The Global South
If you haven’t heard of the term “Global South” before, this would be a good moment to give it some attention. 88% of the world’s population live in the countries highlighted in red on the map below, in the main comprising the people and political leaders of Asia, Africa and Latin America. This group has […]
Huawei Rising Again
It doesn’t seem long ago that American sanctions, together with the many countries who excluded them from the process of building their 5G networks, threatened to put Huawei out of business. Since 2020, most American firms have been barred from doing business with Huawei and other countries have been persuaded not to use Huawei’s equipment […]
The West
When you travel around Asia and see the world from an Asian perspective, you really notice the looming presence of “The West” in every conversation about the future. In very crude terms, you could define “The West” as being represented by two blocs: AUKUS – the so-called “Trilateral Security Partnership Between Australia, UK and US” […]
Population & Ambition
We’re living in the Asian Century. Asia has the money, the population and the ambition to lead the world in many areas, including healthcare, advanced manufacturing and renewable energy. Much of this growth and development is being funded by China with the benefits seeping out into all Asian markets who, despite negative media and well […]
Sipping from the Fire Hose
I would like to invite you to listen to a podcast about China and, in particular, the views of David Rennie, the Beijing based bureau chief of The Economist who covers a wide range of important issues with the team at “Beijing to Britain”. It’s quite long (approx one hour) but well worth it and […]
Pointy Elbows
Last week I was hosting a pre-departure session for the delegates who are joining us next month on our Australian HealthTech Mission to Hong Kong. The topic was about investment, and how to pitch to Chinese investors and, as inevitably happens, we spent time talking about cultural differences. I have written books on this topic, […]
Small is Beautiful
Last week I attended the launch of the annual survey conducted by KPMG and USYD on ‘Demystifying Chinese investment in Australia 2023’ which includes 2022 and now shows the full picture going back to when the survey started in 2007 (16 years in total – see chart below). At first glance, the picture looks somewhat […]
Ageing Pains
It seems I’m not the only one getting old, especially in the Asia Pacific region which, as can be seen from the latest infographic from Visual Capitalist below, will soon be home to 1 billion people over age 65. A more detailed breakdown can be found here. Of course this is nothing new. We’ve known […]
Keeping the Peace
Following on from last week’s Relationships before Transactions, it’s both heartening and encouraging to see photos released from last week’s meeting at the Great Hall of the People between Chinese President Xi Jinping and representatives of the US business, strategic and academic communities. Even some of the most hardened cynics and detractors would, on balance, […]
Relationships before Transactions
Following last week’s successful visit to Australia by China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, there appears to be a high expectation (at least according to the media) that the current tariffs on Australian wine imposed by China in late 2020 will be lifted, perhaps as early as next month. If this happens, it’s going to be […]