China’s Economic Policy: Short-term Pain for Long-term Gain?
China’s good fortunes during the Covid pandemic appear to be waning in 2022. Challenges are mounting at home to contain omicron, while inflation, higher interest rates, and possibly a recession […]
Geopolitical Risks Rise in Asia
Geopolitical risks across Asia are increasing. Risks that companies face include those to reputation, ability to operate, access to resources, and even the license to be in business in a […]
China’s Logistical Upgrade Is Around the Corner
While China’s lockdowns will further mire supply chains in confusion and complexity in 2022, the long-term prospects for the logistics sector are more optimistic. Companies have shown a newly found […]
War in Ukraine: Insulating the China Business
The war in Ukraine has created fresh geopolitical risks that companies In China must grapple with. The hard news is that China has adopted a stance of ‘pro-Russia neutrality’. The […]
China’s Policy Pendulum Swings Towards Growth
After several turbulent years of economic reform and no GDP targets, China’s policy pendulum has swung back to growth. China’s 5.5% GDP target for 2022 demonstrates the government’s willingness to […]
Reassessing Asia’s Production Opportunities
Manufacturing companies across Asia are reassessing the location of their production facilities. The latest assessment is a continuation of a long-term trend of seeking new production sites as manufacturing costs […]
Turbocharging Digital: Bots That Bridge China’s Divides
Robotic process automation (RPA) offers a potential solution to integration problems that plague MNCs in China. China’s tight regulations inhibit cross-border data flows. At the same time, blazingly fast local […]
Achieving China’s 30-60 Decarbonisation Goals
China is coming to the green game late but with the full might of authoritarian governance behind it. As the world’s largest carbon emitter, producing a quarter of global greenhouse […]
Unpacking US Sanctions on China’s Tech Sector
US sanctions have exposed China’s reliance on foreign technologies, especially in semiconductors. As a result, China is experiencing its own ‘Sputnik moment’, triggering widespread unease about the country’s perceived technological […]
China Strategy: One Company, Two Systems
Business strategies for China are evolving because of the pandemic crisis, geopolitics, and supply chain disruption. China is still the focus for growth, at least for the next three to […]
Crisis Management in the Social Media Age
Foreign firms are caught in the middle on polarising issues between China and the West. During a recent IMA China CEO Forum meeting members discussed how they are managing crises […]
POEs and Beijing: More Intertwined Than Meets the Eye
The Chinese government has turned its powerful spotlight towards the private sector’s size, wealth, and influence in China’s socialist market economy. The scuppering of Alibaba’s IPO for Ant Group was […]
Futureproofing Your China Workforce
China is undergoing a seismic shift from a manufacturing powerhouse to a digitised, innovative economy. Much like the economic miracle of the last few decades, the country’s future will be […]
Business Model Innovation: Everything as a Service
Firms in China are seeking richer margins by selling services instead of selling products. Today, data-driven technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) are supercharging the move towards ‘servitization’. Consequently, […]
14th Five-Year Plan: Xi’s 30-Year Dash to the Finish Line
During an IMA China CEO Forum meeting in Shanghai, a China ‘insider’ gave his views on the impact of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP) on MNCs operating in China – […]
Avoiding the Crossfire: Public Affairs Strategy in China
In a politically charged world, words matter in preventing and diffusing flareups. MNCs especially need to navigate the sensitivities, both at home and in China, to avoid getting caught in […]
Agile Planning in China Leads to Sales
Covid put into stark relief the importance of staying nimble. During the early days of Covid, supply and demand issues reared their ugly head, and massive price fluctuations followed. At […]
Building a Resilient Post-Covid Workplace in China
China’s unique experience with Covid has put it on a divergent path from the rest of the world. With the virus effectively suppressed in China, employees have been back in […]
Navigating Asia’s Manufacturing Challenges in 2021
Surging Costs, Shortages, and Difficult Capex Decisions A faster than expected economic recovery in the first half of 2021 in many Asian markets certainly is welcome, but the recovery also […]
Selling China to HQ
Rising trade tensions, the pressure to decouple the China business from global networks, and the after-effects of the Covid pandemic have combined to make communications between headquarters and China operations […]