“The tension between China and the US is unlike the tension between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War,” said Yan Xuetong, chief of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University. He is also secretary-general of the World Peace Forum in Beijing.

Yan was speaking at a forum titled “An Uneasy Peace: China in a Divided World”, where he addressed the changing geopolitical dynamic between China and the US, and what that entails for Asean.

“Instead of focusing on military accumulation, ideological conflicts and nuclear threats, competition between the superpowers China and the US will be in the realms of economics and technology,” Yan said, calling the rivalry an era of “uneasy peace”.

The economic dispute between the two countries is only one aspect of the conflict and will be followed by technological tensions, he added, citing the recent arrest of Huawei’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou, in Canada.

Thanks to President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, the US has been playing a smaller role in international politics, retreating from regions such as Asean. However, China lacks the capacity to take the United State’s place in international politics, which now leaves Asean members with the manoeuvring ground to take charge of their region’s management, Yan said.

The international relations expert agreed that Asean has been presented with an important opportunity to drive forward the cohesive integration of the region during the apparent geopolitical power vacuum.

Yan further suggested that while Trump’s inward-looking foreign policy has led to a general decline in multilateral relations around the world, the Asean region is an exception. Multilateral negotiations such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and the Lanchang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) are still promising, he said.

Other participants agreed that there was a window for Asean multilateral cooperation to grow.

“For this reason, Thailand’s position as Asean chair is extremely important, as it will set in motion the necessary diplomatic and trade initiatives to cope with the changing world order,” said Kavi Chongkittavorn, senior fellow of the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Thailand, and former chief editor at Myanmar Times.

One of Thailand’s most ambitious goals as the chair is to conclude the RCEP negotiations, which has been going on for seven years.

If successful, RCEP will be the largest multilateral trade deal in history, between the 10 Asean member countries and China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The key challenge for Thailand in negotiating the RCEP agreement will be to bind together China and India, the two superpowers that have conflicting interests, Kavi added.

“Completing the RCEP is not just significant for Thai trade, but it is also symbolic of Thailand’s commitment to push forward the notion of ‘Asean Centrality’,” he said later in an interview on the sidelines of the forum.

According to the Department of Trade Negotiations, the US-China trade war has made Thailand and other countries in the region determined to conclude the mega-trade pact’s negotiations by the end of this year.

Kavi believes that even though the negotiations have been dragging on for the past seven years, RCEP will finally be concluded in 2019 under the current external pressures.

“Our handling of the RCEP will say whether Asean is still relevant in the geopolitical field as a region. It will also improve Thailand’s image internationally for being able to reconcile opposing interests of various superpowers into a single mega-trade pact,” he said.

However, Yan has a more sobering view of the RCEP negotiations.

“Due to the sheer size of the deal and the conflicting interest of the economic powerhouses involved, the chances of concluding RCEP by the end of this year are slim, as are other regional negotiations that will be set in place,” he said.

“However, Thailand must keep the dialogue on issues such as RCEP on the table during its chairmanship to ensure that the region remains as one entity and that cooperation in the region continues to progress gradually.”

The event is held from today at Srinakharinwirot University Prasarnmit Campus, and will be until this Saturday (February 2). It expects to draw more than 10,000 visitors totally.

In a press release issued on Thursday, ETDA announced Srinakharinwirot University as a model institution, and will be expanding its cooperation to leading educational institutions to build strong e-commerce human resources in Thailand.

ETDA said it draws together the biggest names in e-Commerce, nationally and internationally, to share knowledge and experiences at the event. The prize for the biggest and most popular online business of the year will also be announced.

Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, Deputy Prime Minister, said that the three-day Thailand e-Commerce Week 2019 will be the 4th edition of the event, hosted under the theme “e-Commerce In The Park” to show the efforts of the ETDA in pushing and supporting electronic transactions and e-commerce for businesses of every size.

ETDA has created several programmes to develop the abilities of businesses to compete and grow online, reducing the inequality gap for people in society, along with equipping the both the youth and elderly with necessary knowledge to be able to use the internet to their advantages creatively.

In the area of youth development in the past, ETDA has cooperated with Srinakharinwirot University, which has set aims at innovating at an international level, in creating a workforce to support e-Commerce businesses. It aims to create an e-Commerce Park, along with planning for the creation of a Silicon Valley for e-Commerce with a full supporting ecosystem here in Thailand.

“This event is a good starting point that is not only support for Thai businesses but also for students who will become the young talent, full of creativity and power, and ready to improve their abilities in every aspect. They will have the chance to hear different ideas in developing businesses from real businessmen that have been able to survive in a competitive digital era, who will hopefully spark inspiration in them, and will hopefully benefit them in their studies and work in the future,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

​Surangkana Wayuparp, the President of Electronic Transactions Development Agency (Public Organization) or ETDA, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society said that this event has received the support and cooperation from both the public and private sectors, both nationally and internationally.

It is estimated that there will be no fewer than 4,500 visitors to the event over the 3 days.

Thailand e-Commerce Week 2019 is an event that brings together everything about the e-Commerce business, whether it is e-Commerce platform operators, such as Shopee Thailand, LNW; financial operators such as Bangkok Bank; logistics operators, such as Kerry, Thai Post Office; as well as digital marketing service providers, packaging providers, warehouse and storage services, or even product photography services.

In addition, there will be an exhibition showcase of successful online businesses, including a space to buy and sell products from SMEs that focus on online markets in the event as well.

Surangkana said: “One of the most important aspects of this year’s event is the launch of the “Young talent Platform” for the first time in Thailand at Srinakharinwirot University, which will act as a hub for e-Commerce and for the development of capabilities in the field, as well as a center for the creation of knowledge for the Workforce, and will also be a platform that will be able to support the creation of an e-Commerce Park in the future.

“We have brainstormed ideas from experts in Start ups, who have given their advice on doing e-Commerce, finding funding, business matching, e-Learning, and connecting to e-Marketplace.

“We will also offer a registry service to create a Community for Young Talent to be able to exchange ideas with one another. At the same time, it will offer e-Commerce related services such as Logistics, Payment, Online Marketing etc.

“There will be further expansions of cooperation with other universities to support the development of human resources in e-Commerce in Thailand, which will use Srinakharinwirot University as its model.

“Additionally, there will be a simulation of the atmosphere of e-Commerce Park, which will be a center of support for the e-Commerce industry, as well as for SMEs, and will provide convenience for businesses, producers of products, service providers both nationally and internationally, by creating a hub of knowledge and business networks, which will help lift our competitiveness to be equal to that of international markets. It will also be an opportunity to create incentives for businesses to work together as well,” Surangkana said.

ETDA’s idea to create an e-Commerce Park in Thailand was inspired by China, which has over 2,000 e-Commerce Parks in the country.

In the past year, ETDA has signed an MOU with Tungkuan, the leading e-Commerce city in China, in order to exchange personnel as well as experience.

From the creation of the e-Commerce Park in Sirnakharinwirot University, apart from the goal of being a center of education, training and programme creation, as well as a center of cooperation between international organisations that will empower Thai business operators to be able to compete and export their goods, ETDA also gives importance to the labour market by expanding the cooperation with leading education institutions. The institutions are able to send recent graduations or students that need income while studying to e-Commerce Park to improve the abilities of this new generation and advise the general public and others that seek information on selling goods online safely, creating an ecosystem for e-Commerce in Thailand.

Citi analysts remain overweight equities and prefer emerging markets, particularly in Asia, which is heading for economic growth of 4.5 per cent this year, Don Charnsupharindr, director and retail banking head at Citibank Thailand, said yesterday.

Asian market valuations are attractive as some investors in the so-called real sectors can buy equities at about a 50 per cent discount, according to Citibank, which launched a partnership with Fidelity International yesterday. “The bull market is in the late cycle,” said Don, referring to the global equities markets, during the launch of the partnership.

He said that growth in the overall global economy in 2019 was expected to moderate from that of 2018, to 3.1 per cent, as a result of global events and economic factors that have brought instability over the past year.

 The risks to growth include monetary policy divergence across markets, increased protectionism as part of broader trade tensions, heightened political risks and a slowdown in China and, potentially, the United States. Emerging markets are forecast to grow by 4.5 per cent in 2019 and 4.6 per cent in 2020, while developed markets are forecast to expand by 2 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.

Don said he expects weakness in the US dollar as a result of the fading impact of President Donald Trump’s late-cycle fiscal stimulus. The baht is likely to strengthen in the range of 32.70 to 33 to the dollar. The United States’ Federal Reserve is expected to raise the its policy rate twice more in 2019. The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are maintaining their interest rates under strict monetary policies.

The stock markets in Asia may face volatility but there is a high chance of increased capital inflows into the region, Don said.

Citibank Thailand and global investment manager Fidelity International yesterday introduced five flagship mutual funds: Fidelity Funds – Global Dividend Fund, Fidelity Funds Emerging Markets Fund, Fidelity Funds Asian High Yield, Fidelity Funds China Yield Fund and Fidelity Funds Global Technology Fund.

Don said he expected that the number of Citibank’s Thailand-based clients would grow more than 20 per cent this year, after achieving 20 per cent growth last year.

Wildon Goh, wholesale director at Fidelity International’s Southeast Asia division, said the Global Dividend Fund will select listed companies that offer high dividend payments, of about 3 per cent, for several years. Regarding investment in bonds, he said high-yield debt in China has offered higher returns than Chinese equities over recent years. Fidelity’s Asian high-yield fund offers investors the benefits of diversified investment portfolios in the region, said Goh.

Don said that Thai investors should consider buying investment-grade bonds and that high-yield funds would be a good option as they could limit investors to individual high-yield bonds.