Timeline of Events that Defined the Year in Asia

Japan begins bolstering its national defence, including plans for new funding, new missiles, cybersecurity enhancements, and co-operation with partners. 

Vietnam’s president, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, resigns amid corruption allegations. He is replaced in March by Vo Van Thuong.  

China’s GDP slows to three per cent, missing the 5.5 per cent target set by Beijing in March 2022.  

A mass trial begins in Hong Kong for 47 academics, activists, and former politicians accused of voting in an unofficial primary for the city’s Legislative Council. 

Bangladeshi government shuts down the opposition party’s only newspaper, deepening concerns about declining press freedoms. 

Xi Jinping is cleared for an unprecedented third term as China’s President and General Secretary of the ruling CCP. 

U.K. gets approval to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Canada is a founding member. 

The Philippines announces the locations of four new sites to host U.S. troops under the two countries’ enhanced defence co-operation. 

India surpasses China to become the world’s most populous country, with a population of 1.425 billion. 

Survey results show that 53% of the Japanese public supports revising Article 9 of the Constitution, which renounces the country’s right to wage war. 

Hong Kong government drastically reduces the number of district council seats subject to public vote, from 452 to 88, augmenting its ability to pack the city government with pro-Beijing “patriots.”  

Canada signs MoU with South Korea for co-operation on critical minerals, clean energy transition, and energy security to support both countries’ efforts to be “globally competitive players” in these sectors. 

South Korea issues a National Security Strategy focusing on strengthening ties with strategic partners, including Canada, in security, trade, and new technologies like AI and electric vehicles. 

A Netflix drama titled Wave Makers sparks a #MeToo movement in Taiwan, implicating individuals in politics, the judiciary, and the media. 

Indonesia and Malaysia, two major palm oil producers, and the EU agree to a task force on deforestation, prompted by the EU’s halt on palm oil imports from recently deforested land.  

China’s central bank slaps heavy fines on two large tech companies, Ant Group and Tencent Holdings, ending three years of regulatory scrutiny that spooked the country’s fintech giants and others in the private sector. 

Nearly three months of ethnic strife in the northeast Indian state of Manipur leave 125 dead and 60,000 displaced. 

U.S. President Joe Biden issues executive order restricting new American investment in sensitive high-tech industries in China. Beijing bolsters its self-reliance efforts in “critical tech.”

Beijing suspends the release of age-specific unemployment data as youth unemployment grows.  

U.S., Japanese, and South Korean leaders hold a “historic” summit at Camp David, ushering in a new phase of trilateral security and economic co-operation. 

Srettha Thavisin becomes Thailand’s new prime minister, ending three months of post-election gridlock.  

India hosts the G20 Summit under the theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”  

EU begins investigating Chinese government subsidies to the electric vehicle industry, raising suspicions that Beijing could hit back by further restricting critical mineral exports. 

A diplomatic crisis emerges between Ottawa and New Delhi over Canada’s allegation that India was involved in the murder of a Sikh Canadian outside Vancouver, B.C. 

World Bank downgrades its projections for developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific, although growth is still expected to be around five per cent.  

U.S. reaffirms its support for defence of the Philippines after Filipino and Chinese vessels collide in the South China Sea.  

Canada and Taiwan, following negotiations that began in February, conclude a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement. 

China’s State Administration for Foreign Exchange data shows that foreign direct investment in China turned negative for the first time since 1998. 

Chinese President Xi and U.S. President Biden meet on the margins of the APEC Summit in San Francisco and make small steps toward stabilizing bilateral relations. 

Moody’s downgrades its assessment of the state of China’s finances from “stable” to “negative” in response to growing concerns about the country’s high debt levels.  

India's Supreme Court rules unanimously to uphold the government’s controversial 2019 decision to revoke the autonomous status for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 

In an unprecedented agreement, almost 200 countries at the COP28 meeting in Dubai agree to transition away from fossil fuels.