In The News

Forbes: Globalization vs Nationalism Forces Investor Rethink

Kenneth Rapoza May 17, 2018
Investors worldwide are assessing the forces of globalization including trade and immigration versus nationalism, protectionism and populism. Inequality, declining worldwide, is rising in the United States, and “investors that benefit from globalization are leaving the middle and working class in the dust,” notes Kenneth Rapoza for Forbes. Those left behind clamor for limits on international...

The Economist: What’s in It for Belt-and-Road Countries?

April 20, 2018
Trade flourished in Central Asia until shipping routes became faster and more affordable than the Silk Road’s land routes: “many Eurasian hubs floundered,” reports the Economist. The leaders of China and many governments expect that infrastructure investments of the Belt and Road Initiative could revive the region as transport routes. But the Economist questions if the flow of trade will be one...

ChinaFile: A Clash of Cyber Civilizations

Geoffrey Hoffman March 21, 2018
Various cultures are emerging on the internet, and “as the international system slips away from American unipolarity, a competing model of cyber sovereignty has emerged in China that seeks to bind cyber borders to online censorship and surveillance,” writes Geoffrey Hoffman for ChinaFile. Distrust also emerges, and he questions if the two models can coexist. China enforces cyber borders and that...

Reuters: Asian Markets Uneasy, Longer US Debt Yields Verge on 3%

Vidya Ranganathan February 9, 2018
The US Congress allowed a brief government shutdown before approving a two-year spending bill, and the US Treasury Department is on track to borrow almost $1 trillion this fiscal year, almost double from the previous year. The US is increasing spending after approving tax cuts that so far are reducing revenue. Asian markets are unnerved by the potential of rising interest rates and long-term US...

Caixin: China to Roll Out Red Carpet for Foreign Financial Firms

Peng Qinqin, Wu Hongyuran, Zhang Yu, Yang Qiaoling and Han Wei November 21, 2017
China may do more to open its financial industry to foreign investors, lifting ownership caps for banks as well as securities, funds, and futures industries, according to a team from Caixin. “Sixteen years after China agreed to liberalize foreign access to its financial sector as part of its World Trade Organization accession commitments, overseas investors still complain about barriers...

The Wall Street Journal: Strategy for the Post-ISIS Middle East

Suzanne Maloney and Michael O’Hanlon November 8, 2017
As the war against the Islamic State winds down and territory is regained in Syria and Iraq, regional and international leaders ponder the next steps. Many challenges remain: combatting other extremist groups and pinpointing sources of extremism, securing oil shipments through the Persian Gulf waterways, calming conflict among coalition partners like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and ending divisive...

Caixin: China’s Quest for “World Class” Universities

Chen Shaoyuan, Xu Zhuang, Kong Xiangfeng and Li Rongde September 27, 2017
The ideas, studies and research pursued at the world’s top-ranked universities stimulate innovation and economic growth. China has targeted 42 universities for increased funding to improve their global rankings – Peking and Tsinghua universities may not have far to go, ranked 27th and 30th, respectively, by World University Rankings. Another 96 universities have been ordered to improve their...