On 16–17 October 2025, more than 100 senior leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and across the Asia–Indo-Pacific convened in Washington, D.C., at the Marriott Marquis Washington, DC, for the inaugural Potomac Dialogue, hosted by the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy (CAPS). Day 1 was structured as a public forum engaging policymakers, industry leaders, and scholars, while Day 2 was conducted as a closed-door intensive workshop to facilitate candid, in-depth strategic discussions among senior practitioners.

Participants underscored that economic security and geopolitical stability in Asia and the Indo-Pacific are now fundamentally inseparable. The post–World War II global order—anchored in open markets, institutional trust, and U.S.-led security guarantees—is under sustained pressure as strategic competition, particularly involving China, increasingly unfolds in the economic domain. Trade, finance, technology, energy, food security, and critical supply chains are now central instruments of national power and strategic influence. Despite historically high levels of global trade, trust among major economies has deteriorated markedly, with tariffs, export controls, sanctions, industrial policies, and state-directed investment reshaping globalization toward resilience, strategic autonomy, and expanded state control. While these measures seek to mitigate vulnerabilities, they are also generating significant unintended consequences, including trade diversion, inflationary pressures, reduced supply chain transparency, and growing strain on allies and partners navigating competing economic and security frameworks. The Dialogue highlighted the risks of systemic fragmentation and underscored the imperative for coordinated policy responses among like-minded economies. CAPS reaffirmed its commitment to advancing strategic dialogue, policy innovation, and cross-sector collaboration to strengthen a resilient, rules-based economic and security architecture across the Asia–Indo-Pacific and Eurasia.

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