A Dominant Asia Will Mean Poorer Europe, Say Estonian Asia Experts
The growing dominance of Asia by 2032 will lead to a decline in Europe and the United States, which in turn will have a negative effect on their economies and decrease the quality of life, said Asian experts Peeter Espak and Teet Toome.
Speaking as part of ERR's “Estonia 2032” project, Espak said Asia will become the central area in the world, and although the US army will still be the most powerful, it will lack resources to hold on to any land taken during operations. He said other nations such as India will dispute China's dominance.
China is still mimicking richer nations in innovation, and is spending far less on education and research compared to the EU, USA and Japan, Toome said, but the world's most populous nation is likely to catch up by 2032.
Speaking about Estonian higher education, Espak said the University of Tartu is currently in the top 500 universities in the world, but could be in the top 200 in 18 years. Other universities in Tallinn are filling gaps left by Tartu, he said.
Instead of concentrating on Estonian-language science, successful Estonian scientists are needed, and literature in Estonian, Espak said.