API Geoeconomic Briefing is a series provided by the Asia Pacific Initiative, an independent think tank based in Tokyo. The series will look into geopolitical and economic trends in the post-COVID-19 world, with a particular focus on four areas: technology and innovation, global supply chains, international rule-making and climate change.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world have closed their borders. But now, they are starting to reopen them, hoping to resume economic and social activities.
Face-to-face diplomacy is resuming as well. In Hawaii on June 17, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Communist Party Politburo. The following day, French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to London and traded awkward bows with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as they maintained social distancing.