Competing for the Frontier: Benchmarking the US-China Technology Competition
June 27, 2024The US and China are locked in a technology competition. Less well understood is how each side assesses the contours of that contest, and the strategies for winning it. Yet any serious game plan must contend with the opponent’s view of the competitive landscape, or risk being outflanked and outplayed. In our new research report, we assess the current US-China competitive balance in the technology domain, and benchmark the two countries’ standing in the field.
a/symmetric: China’s second mover advantage?
May 18, 2024Reactions to GPT-4o, and other observations on the AI race
a/symmetric: De-risking with Chinese characteristics
January 6, 2024How China has long deployed an asymmetric industrial strategy that it now purports to denounce
Deglobalization Round-Up: December 2, 2023
December 2, 2023Burner phones for Hong Kong trips, PCAOB fines for PwC China and Hong Kong, quant hedge funds eye opportunities in China, and Indian biotech firms benefit from the de-risking push.
The Week That’s Done: The logistics of critical minerals, ship hijack threatens supply chains
November 25, 2023The business of moving critical minerals around the world can be as important as digging them out of the ground—and Chinese logistics firms are making investments in ports and roads around key mines. Meanwhile, Petrobras’s ambitions, Indonesia’s dream minerals deal and Europe’s stress signals. Plus: a Red Sea hijacking could disrupt Asia supply chains.
Deglobalization Round-Up: November 24, 2023
November 24, 2023A US asset manager sees opportunity in China—even as over three-quarters of the foreign money invested in Chinese stocks this year has left. Meanwhile, China ships out small amounts of gallium and germanium, the EU signs its anti-coercion tool into law, and the FT’s Ruchir Sharma argues that it’s a “post-China world now.”
Deglobalization Round-Up: November 18, 2023
November 18, 2023Singapore mulls stricter investment rule, Australia proposes easing defense export controls to the UK and US, Washington and Beijing strike a fentanyl deal, and Alibaba scraps its cloud unit spinoff plans. Plus: Applie Materials under investigation.
Deglobalization Round-Up: November 4, 2023
November 4, 2023China plays good cop, bad cop on US semiconductor company Micron. Vanguard quits China. US senators oppose a limited free trade agreement with Indonesia. And CCP officials are banned from private equity investments.
Deglobalization Round-Up: October 28
October 28, 2023EV and battery makers ponder implications of China’s graphite export restrictions. Brazilian planemaker Embraer plans to expand in China as ties between Brasilia and Beijing deepen. And Sino-Russia ties are getting ever warmer, with a raft of business deals inked this week.
Deglobalization Round-Up: October 21
October 20, 2023Corporate investigations and intelligence firms decide Hong Kong isn’t worth the risk. Across the border, a Japanese businessman is formally arrested by Chinese authorities. Meanwhile, India gets uncomfortable with yuan-denominated payments for oil—though France doesn’t too concerned with using the Chinese currency for LNG trade. Plus: the UK’s MI5 warns of Chinese espionage on an “epic scale.”
The Week That’s Done: HongShan (née Sequoia China) eyes global investments
October 14, 2023Sequoia’s China spin-off is searching for investment targets worldwide, underlining private capital flows as an arena of geopolitical competition. Meanwhile, a fertilizer shock could raise global food prices, Japan deals with an inflation and deflation dilemma, BYD spots another IRA backdoor, and US inflation rears its stubborn head. Plus: oil and gas volatility.
Deglobalization Round-Up: October 14
October 14, 2023Saudi-China AI collaboration could throttle the kingdom’s access to US chips, Europe plans a probe into Chinese steelmaker subsidies, Beijing restricts offshore trading by domestic brokerages, and British banks game out their China risks. Plus: Chinese EV suppliers find IRA back doors in Morocco and South Korea.
The China Nexus: Thirty Years in and around the Chinese Communist Party’s Tyranny
November 17, 2022The challenges facing US industrial dynamism extend are in part a product of the Chinese Communist Party’s market distortions: Rebuilding domestic industry will demand equal protection as well as promotion. This excerpt from Benedict Rogers’s The China Nexus details a new US resolve to protect.
A US Policy Roadmap for a Reshored Reality
November 9, 2022Reshoring, especially from China, is essential to American resilience. Here, Harry Moser proposes a framework and set of policy measures to level the industrial playing field. These could bring the total reshored US jobs to 5 million, a 40 percent increase in manufacturing, and full American resilience.
The Week That’s Done: October 2
October 2, 2022Poll results show that the US public backs revoking China’s PNTR status and markets should take heed. Plus: Nord Stream sabotage, the LME considers banning Russian metals, Chinese battery and EV firms are snapping up global lithium supply, and the US needs to step up gas production.
Hard Problems: The US Tech Sector Is Ignoring the China Threat
September 16, 2022It is time for the US tech sector to recognize the near and present national security threat China poses; to get on the right side of history. For the US to prevail against a centralized, Communist system, its tech sector will have to lead, proactively. Markets will reward this. The country needs it.
Grey Duck Outdoor: A Small Business Playbook for Domestic Production
September 5, 2022As the owner of Grey Duck Outdoor, I am one year into trying on-shoring. I’m therefore one year into recognizing both how difficult this process can be, and how much potential it offers. And I’m evidence that it is possible to rethink supply chains – especially with the support of US equity holders and consumers.
The Lesson of Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit: Win The Production Battle, Win the War
August 23, 2022Positioning for the industrial competition at hand will require the US national security community to recognize that today's geopolitical contest may not be fought with missiles. Except, that is, as it applies to where those missiles are made. This is a war to be won on the factory floor. And it started long before Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.
A Secure Industrial Strategy Starts at the Upstream
July 26, 2022In everything from batteries to solar panels, the energy sources of tomorrow depend on inputs from China. The good news is that it it's not too late. The US, its allies, and its partners can still compete. But they will have to start with the upstream.
