Abstract:
Donald Trump’s return to the White House on 20 January 2025 has profoundly reshuffled the geopolitical deck in East Asia. New questions have been added to those already existing about the degree of US commitment to Taiwan in the event of open conflict with the People’s Republic of China. Many in the region fear that the47thUS president will put trade before the strategic interests of Taiwan and its neighbours, including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and a few other countries. The balance of power between Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping seems to be clearly tilted in favour of the latter. As a skilled strategist facing a businessman who is largely ignorant of the geopolitical issues at stake in the region, Xi Jinping knows how to play the long game in the face of futile attempts to secure illusory trade deals.
The United States’ allies in East Asia are showing growing concern about the unpredictability that characterises Donald Trump, one of the most serious consequences of which is to undermine these countries’ trust in America, their traditional ally against China, North Korea and Russia. As a result, these same countries have begun a political rapprochement, which remains fragile, however, due to history and economic necessities that greatly benefit China, which has long used this tool to counterbalance American influence in the region.
What will happen tomorrow? The American administration cannot forget the vital importance of Taiwan for America’s future, as the former Formosa is a major strategic lock in the Pacific which, if broken, would allow China to extend its influence to the shores of the American continent. But is Trump aware of this? Faced with China’s barely concealed desire to drive the United States out of Asia, will East Asia be able to overcome its historical divisions and succeed in taking control of its own destiny? These are the serious questions to which the region will have to find answers.
Speaker: Pierre-Antoine Donnet, Journaliste et auteur, spécialiste de l’Asie de l’Est.
Pierre-Antoine Donnet, is a French journalist and author specializing in East Asia. He holds degrees in Political Science (IEP Strasbourg), Chinese (INALCO), and History (University of Strasbourg). After field studies in Taiwan and Hong Kong (1979–1981), he joined AFP in 1982. His career included postings as correspondent in Beijing, Tokyo, and at the United Nations in New York, as well as bureau chief in Warsaw and Strasbourg, and editorial roles in Paris and Cyprus. He has written around fifteen books—many translated into multiple languages—on China, Japan, and Tibet. Since 2018, he has contributed to Asialyst.com, becoming its editor-in-chief in January 2025, and has led the quarterly Asia Magazine since 2024. A polyglot fluent in English, Polish, and Chinese, he is a regular commentator in French and international media, and a specialist speaker on China and Japan.
Publications:
About fifteen books, most of them about East Asia. These include Tibet Mort ou Vivant (Gallimard, translated into Chinese (Taiwan), English in London and New Delhi, Japanese in Tokyo and Polish in Warsaw), Le leadership mondial en question, l’affrontement Chine/Etats-Unis (World Leadership in Question: The China-US Confrontation, published by Éditions de l’Aube, translated into Chinese in Taiwan and English in Singapore) and Chine le grand prédateur (China: The Great Predator, published by Éditions de l’Aube, translated into Chinese in Taiwan, Japanese in Tokyo, English in London and Hindi in New Delhi), Le dossier chinois, portrait d’un pays au bord de l’abîme (collective work, edited by P.A. Donnet), Éditions du Cherche-Midi, October 2022, Confucius aujourd’hui, un héritage universaliste, Éditions de l’Aube, January 20 , 2023, Chine l’empire des illusions (China: The Empire of Illusions) (Éditions Saint-Simon, January 2024), Japon, l’envol vers la modernité (Japan: The Flight Towards Modernity) (Éditions de l’Aube, April 2024). Forthcoming: Taïwan, survivre libres (Taiwan: Surviving Free) (Éditions Nevicata, September 2025).
This seminar will be held in English.
Corrado Neri, Director of the CEFC Taipei, will chair the session.
