Dr. Lurong Chen is a Senior Economist of ERIA (the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia). His expertise centres on digital economy, free trade agreement, GVC digitalization, and Asian regionalism. Dr. Chen has two decades experience in providing consultancy on development issues related to digitalization, GVCs and FTAs to international organizations, state governments, and the private sector. He received his Ph.D. in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies (IUHEI), Geneva, Switzerland. His recent publications are Facilitating Digital Trade in ASEAN and East Asia (together with Fukunari Kimura and Michitaka Nakatomi) published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2025, and Further ASEAN-China Cooperation for Joint Prosperity: Envisioning ACFTA 3.0 (together with Aladdin D. Rillo) in the Digital Era published by ERIA in 2024.