The 21st century has witnessed an unprecedented surge in technological advancements, with artificial intelligence emerging as a worldwide transformative force across the economy. The integration of AI-based technologies into regional economies through the manufacturing and design of goods such as smartphones and smart speakers has sparked significant changes, leading to increased efficiency, innovation and economic […]
Is the United States overestimating China’s power?
Which country is the greatest threat to the United States? The answer, according to a large proportion of Americans, is clear: China. Half of all Americans responding to a mid-2023 survey from the Pew Research Center cited China as the biggest risk to the U.S., with Russia trailing in second with 17%. Other surveys, such […]
Germany’s economy must be fixed – here are three top priorities
The latest figures on German gross domestic product (GDP) are far from reassuring. Output was 0.3% lower in 2023 than the year before, turning Germany into the worst-performing large economy in the world. By comparison, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)‘s latest calculations show the US economy growing 2.1% in 2023 and China 5%. The European […]
6 essential reads on what to look out for as US, Chinese leaders hold face-to-face talks
U.S. President Joe Biden sits down with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Nov. 15, 2023, in the first head-to-head talks between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies in over a year. During that time, relations between the two countries have not been their best – a spat over a purported spy balloon […]
Can the South Asian economy break from the past and find a route to stability?
Sri Lanka has a new president and prime minister – but a change in who leads the crisis-hit South Asian nation alone will not solve the country’s severe economic problems. Ranil Wickremesinghe – who on July 20, 2022, was voted in by lawmakers to replace fleeing former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa – and his appointed premier […]
Why China’s real estate crisis should make the global travel industry nervous
Once upon a time – in 2019 – tourists from China were among the best-traveled in the world. They collectively spent more than US$250 billion abroad – nearly twice as much as their nearest competitors, the Americans – and logged more than 150 million departures on international flights that year. The COVID-19 pandemic shook the […]
New data reveal US space economy’s output is shrinking – an economist explains in 3 charts
The space industry has changed dramatically since the Apollo program put men on the moon in the late 1960s. Today, over 50 years later, private companies are sending tourists to the edge of space and building lunar landers. NASA is bringing together 27 countries to peacefully explore the Moon and beyond, and it is using […]
War in Ukraine might give the Chinese yuan the boost it needs to become a major global currency — and be a serious contender against the US dollar
The Chinese economy’s sheer size and rapid growth are impressive. China maintained one of the highest economic growth rates in the world for more than a quarter of a century, helping lift over 800 million people out of poverty in just a few decades. The country is the largest exporter in the world and the […]
Why China’s shrinking population is a big deal – counting the social, economic and political costs of an aging, smaller society
Throughout much of recorded human history, China has boasted the largest population in the world – and until recently, by some margin. So news that the Chinese population is now in decline, and will sometime later this year be surpassed by that of India, is big news even if long predicted. As a scholar of […]
Jiang Zemin propelled China’s economic rise in the world, leaving his successors to deal with the massive inequality that followed
By the summer of 1989, a series of problems were threatening China’s stability. Soaring inflation was undermining the economy at home while the violent suppression of Tiananmen Square demonstrations had left it largely a pariah state abroad. Yet within a few years the nation rebounded – beginning two decades of high economic growth, membership in […]