• Vietnam’s Semiconductor Strategy: Between Opportunity and Strategic Constraint

    Vietnam’s Semiconductor Strategy: Between Opportunity and Strategic Constraint

    Guest Article by Léane Noirot Vietnam is pushing to move up the semiconductor value chain from assembly into chip design and fabrication, backed by national strategy and rising foreign investment. Its success will depend on managing infrastructure, capital, and geopolitical pressures amid intensifying US–China competition. Vietnam has entered a decisive phase…

  • How China’s AI Momentum Reflects the Strength of Its Economic Playbook

    How China’s AI Momentum Reflects the Strength of Its Economic Playbook

    China’s rise in artificial intelligence reflects the strength of its state-directed economic playbook, which mobilizes capital, talent, and local governments around national priorities. Unlike the US’ predominantly market-led model, China’s centralized political authority combined with decentralized economic competition enables rapid policy execution and industrial coordination. Though prone to inefficiencies, this…

  • Isolation vis-a-vis Integration: China’s road to AI self sufficiency

    Isolation vis-a-vis Integration: China’s road to AI self sufficiency

    Far from crippling China’ technological ambitions, the US sanctions have accelerated Beijing’s transition toward a resilient, state-directed model of AI sovereignty. Through a “Triple Helix” framework that fuses immense state capital, corporate entrepreneurship, and growing R&D power of elite universities, China is systematically replacing foreign dependencies with domestic alternatives. The…

  • On the Offensive: China’s K-Visa and the Global Race for Talent 

    On the Offensive: China’s K-Visa and the Global Race for Talent 

    Historically, China experienced a sustained exodus of its brightest minds, as students, researchers, and entrepreneurs left for countries offering greater academic freedom and professional opportunity. For decades, Beijing focused on internal reform aimed at stemming its persistent brain drain. On October 1st, 2025, China introduced the K-visa, joining the ranks…

  • ASEAN’s Data Governance Strategy

    ASEAN’s Data Governance Strategy

    The ASEAN Digital Masterplan aims to triple the size of the regional digital economy by 2030. To build effective technological infrastructure against the backdrop of bipolar competition, ASEAN states must pursue a standardized data governance approach to protect citizens, information, and economic viability. Background: Expansive Digital Economy ASEAN states have…