China
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China’s Reform to Global Expansion: A Conversation with Professor Loren Brandt
Ian Wan of SSI speaks with Loren Brandt, Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto and one of the leading scholars on Chinese economic development. Professor Brandt has conducted extensive survey and field research across China and Vietnam, while contributing to academic and policy discussions on economic reform, industrialization,…
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The Invisible Initiative: How China is Using Fishing as a Cover for Gray Zone Warfare
Behind the same nets aboard civilian fishing ships that cast 44% of the world’s fishing product hides a sophisticated web of legal facade serving as the foundation for China’s naval Gray Zone Warfare; one that justifies armed inspections and attacks on foreign fishing vessels, the disregard for international maritime safety…
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How the Iran War is Revealing Southeast Asia’s Energy Vulnerabilities: Singapore and Cambodia
The recent escalation of the conflict in Iran has sent shockwaves throughout global energy markets, but few regions have felt the structural impacts more intensely than Southeast Asia. Following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Singapore and Cambodia have been especially affected. Energy vulnerabilities revealed in these countries, one…
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China’s Geopolitical Blind Spot: Why Beijing Can’t Navigate the New Middle East
China’s growing economic footprint in the Middle East has not been matched by a corresponding geopolitical strategy capable of navigating the region’s persistent security dilemmas. In fact, Beijing’s adherence to non-intervention, quasi-mediatory diplomacy, and strategic risk aversion has constrained its ability to shape regional outcomes, ultimately limiting its influence at…
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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…
Sino-Southeast Initiative 