News & Insights

Op-ed I Signing of the RCEP I Heiwai Tang

Author: Heiwai Tang, Associate Director, Asia Global Institute

15 countries have joined together to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on November 15, 2020. Heiwai Tang, associate director of Asia Global Institute, discusses the main features of RCEP and its regional impacts in his latest article in the Hong Kong Economic Journal.

Interview I What the incoming Biden administration could mean for US-China relations I Zhiwu Chen

Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, shares his views on what the incoming Biden administration could mean for US-China relations and the trend of secondary listings of Chinese companies in Hong Kong at Bloomberg Markets: China Open Full Show.

Interview I In conversation wtih Michael Spence I Michael Spence

Asia Global Institute Advisory Board Co-Chair and Nobel Laureate Michael Spence applies his Nobel Prize-winning research to government's trust problem, predicts the pandemic likely effect on climate action, and explains how digital data can boost inclusivity.

Interview I The economic impact of Covid-19 I Zhiwu Chen

2020 has proven to be an exceptionally challenging year and one that is filled with unprecedented uncertainty worldwide. In his interview with The Paper, Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, discusses governments’ actions to Covid-19 and what the global economy looks like heading into 2021.

Interview I How China Lost Patience With Jack Ma, Its Loudest Billionaire I Zhiwu Chen

While the sudden cancellation of his Ant Group IPO shocked many investors, Ma’s fall from grace had been years in the making. It is not new that the party regulates private financial businesses as this had been explicitly stated in China’s constitution. “But many private businessmen did not take this seriously," Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, tells the Bloomberg Businessweek. "The recent Ant episode was a wake-up call."

Remembering Professor Ezra F Vogel

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Ezra F Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus at Harvard University.

Op-ed I The Pandemic Public-Debt Dilemma I Michael Spence

Asia Global Institute Advisory Board Co-Chair and Nobel Laureate Michael Spence and Danny Leipziger consider options to support countries that lack the fiscal capacity to respond forcefully to the crisis.

Event I The 9th IFeng Finance Summit I Zhiwu Chen

Speaking at the 9th IFeng Finance Summit, Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, talked about the ways coronavirus is deepening global inequality.

Interview I China pulls back from the world: rethinking Xi’s ‘project of the century I Zhiwu Chen

Chinese overseas lending has fallen sharply amid a reassessment of the Belt and Road Initiative. Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, tells the Financial Times that the retrenchment in Chinese banks’ overseas lending is part of a bigger picture of China cutting back on outbound investments and focusing more resources domestically.

AGI Highlights | December 2020

Happy holidays from the Asia Global Institute and events roundup

Interview I Wall Street Keeps Pushing Into China as Washington Balks I Zhiwu Chen

Wall Street keeps pushing further into China even as Washington continues to raise alarms about Beijing's influence. Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, comments about future policy directions in his interview with Bloomberg Quint.

PRESS RELEASE | Global leaders convene virtually to explore the shift “Towards a New Multilateral Global Economy” at the AsiaGlobal Dialogue 2020

On December 7 from 0830 to 2120 (HKT), as the world continues to speculate on the kind of multilateralism we can expect from US president-elect Joe Biden, prominent global leaders will be meeting at the first virtual AsiaGlobal Dialogue to explore the shift “Towards a New Multilateral Global Economy”.

Op-ed I The State of America’s Disunion I Michael Spence

Asia Global Institute Advisory Board Co-Chair and Nobel laureate Michael Spence and David W Brady find deep and consistent partisan divisions in voting patterns at the county level.

Interview I Hong Kong's economic transformation I Heiwai Tang

To some extent, Hong Kong's economy is affected by the US-China trade war. In this interview with Master Insight, Heiwai Tang, associate director of Asia Global Institute, says to reinvent its economy, Hong Kong will need to reindustrialise and undergo an economic transformation.

Interview I Ant IPO could signal Hong Kong's future under China I Zhiwu Chen

As Hong Kong remains enveloped in uncertainty, some see opportunities in refashioning its economic prospects and place in the world. Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, comments on Hong Kong's economic future in The New York Times.

Interview I How Jack Ma lost his spot at China’s business top table I Zhiwu Chen

China has suspended the listing of Ant Group, which was set to become the world’s largest IPO. The ripple effects of the cancelled IPO are many — and mostly worrying. “The message is that no big private businessman will be tolerated on the mainland,” Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, tells the Financial Times.

Interview I Ant Group's record IPO is suspended I Zhiwu Chen

Ant Group's initial public offering was suspended in Hong Kong and Shanghai on Tuesday. Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, tells Financial Times that while private groups such as Ant do not pose the same level of potential financial risk as China’s big banks, they need to be subject to a more systematic regulatory framework.

Op-ed I Who Will Win the US Presidential Election? I Michael Spence

Asia Global Institute Advisory Board Co-Chair and Nobel Laureate Michael Spence and David W Brady show why Joe Biden is in a far better position - at least in opinion polls - than Hillary Clinton was in 2016.

Interview I Sino-US relations after the US election I Zhiwu Chen

Ahead of the US presidential election, Zhiwu Chen talks about the challenges facing China on "Who's time", a popular interview series by Caixin. US-China tensions will remain, Chen believes, regardless of the outcome of the election.

Interview I Ant financial gears up for one of the largest initial public offerings I Zhiwu Chen

In his interview with Voice of America, Zhiwu Chen says that the Trump administration has threatened to limit Chinese firms' access to US markets and it is a wise choice for Ant Group to get listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Op-ed I Hong Kong must reindustrialise to reinvent its economy I Heiwai Tang

Author: Heiwai Tang, Associate Director, Asia Global Institute

As US-China tensions continue to escalate amid the Covid-19 pandemic and a global trend of deglobalisation, Hong Kong’s role as an economic gateway between mainland China and the rest of the world is likely to shrink in the foreseeable future. In his article in South China Morning Post, Heiwai Tang, associate director of Asia Global Institute, talks about a three-pronged approach for Hong Kong’s third economic transformation and why it must end its reliance on the financial industry.

Interview I China’s New Growth Plan I Zhiwu Chen

"The new plans will be much less explicit and not as specific as before, because the Made in China 2025 plan had brought so much trouble for China and helped energize the opposition from the US," Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, tells Bloomberg.

Interview I The long term impact of Covid-19 I Zhiwu Chen

The Quantitative History Webinar Series, convened by Professor Zhiwu Chen and Dr. Chicheng Ma of The University of Hong Kong, promotes the dissemination of research findings and interdisciplinary use of quantitative methods in historical research. As part of their knowledge dissemination effort, HKU Quantitative History researchers brought public attention to historical research on past pandemics. In this interview with the Financial Times (Chinese), Zhiwu Chen compares Covid-19 to past pandemics and analyzes its long term impact.

Op-ed I A Timid Step Forward: Germany’s New Indo-Pacific Policy I Heribert Dieter

Author: Heribert Dieter, Director of Policy Research, Asia Global Institute

"The German government’s new policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific region appear to be an appropriate recognition of the issues at stake. In reality, Germany continues to shy away from analysing the violations of international law in the South China Sea and developing a political response beyond technical cooperation," says Heribert Dieter, director of policy research at the Asia Global Institute.

Interview I China braced for lose-lose scenario as US election fuels unease I Zhiwu Chen

In a Financial Times article, Zhiwu Chen, director of the Asia Global Institute, observes that “A Biden administration may make life easier for China in the first year or two, as it will take him some time to undo some of the changes made by the Trump administration, but it may present a tougher challenge to China in the longer-term."

Article I Transatlantic Trade: Will the Conflict Heat Up? I Herbiert Dieter

Author: Heribert Dieter, Director of Policy Research, Asia Global Institute

"Whilst the Covid-19 crisis overshadows other issues all over the world, some topics will most probably return once the pandemic will recede. Transatlantic trade is one of those. For years, policy makers on both side of the Atlantic have discussed trade policy, but have failed to reduce concerns," says Heribert Dieter, director of policy research at the Asia Global Institute.

Op-ed I Minding the Digital Economy’s Narrowing Gaps I Michael Spence

Author: Michael Spence, Advisory Board Co-Chair, Asia Global Institute

Asia Global Institute Advisory Board Co-Chair and Nobel Laureate Michael Spence traces the evolution of online, data-driven markets in order to identify remaining areas of concern.