The new economic diplomacy is about decision-making and negotiation in international economic relations. In the face of shifts in the balance of economic power and the progressive emergence of a more multi-polar economic order, decision makers have turned more and more to power-based action as opposed to rules-based negotiation. Established channels of international economic cooperation, such as in the WTO and other multilateral bodies, are seen as either not representing - or no-longer serving - the interests of leading economic powers such as China and the USA. National policy preference formation is increasingly shaped by geopolitical calculations. The policy instruments used increasingly take the form of unilateral measures ranging from Trump’s tariffs, export controls on chips and critical minerals to the use of business/commercial relations in the pursuit of strategic political objectives. This ECIPE-Clingendael hosted discussion will therefore address the question of what an analysis of economic diplomacy can tell us about these trends and prospects for reviving more collaborative rules-based approaches?
Programme
13.30-13.40 | Opening & Scene-setting Remarks: What is the New Economic Diplomacy?
- Stephen Woolcock, LSE
13.40-14.10 | Perspectives on the New Economic Diplomacy
- Alexander Bobroske, former US campaign operative and trade policy advisor: Shaping US economic diplomacy;
- Xiaotong Zhang, Director China and Central Asia Studies Center, KIMEP University: China’s approach to geopolitics and multipolarity;
- Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Clingendael Institute: The EU’s shift to economic security and tech sovereignty
Reflections and key take-aways
- Philipp Lamprecht, ECIPE
Followed by Q&A and discussion
This webinar is organised on the occasion of the publication of the book: The New Economic Diplomacy: decision making and negotiation in international economic relations, 2025, edited by Stephen Woolcock.
Co-organised with the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE).
