Paris: The New Switzerland
Insights from the Asia Society France Summer Summit
During the Asia Society France Summer Summit, Wharton alumni and global leaders reflected on Paris’s emerging role as a neutral meeting ground in a world defined by competing powers.
In Liu Cixin’s novel The Three-Body Problem, survival depends on managing three gravitational forces at once. Today’s geopolitical landscape mirrors that tension, with the United States, China, and the European Union exerting simultaneous influence.
Although Europe may lack the hard power of Washington or Beijing, Paris offers something unique — a diplomatic stage where opposing visions can be examined without direct confrontation. This year’s summit made that strategy tangible.
“We designed Paris as a place to transcend binaries — beyond ‘hawk’ or ‘dove,’ beyond capital-to-capital talking points. China’s decisions now shape supply chains, tech standards, and climate outcomes worldwide. You need a room where that complexity can be explored with rigor — and without theatrics.”
These words from Duncan Clark, founding trustee and co-chair of Asia Society France, capture the city’s new role as a space for balanced, intellectual dialogue amid global uncertainty.
Author’s Summary
Paris positions itself as a diplomatic crossroads where leaders from the U.S., China, and Europe can engage in nuanced, forward-looking conversations about shared global challenges.