Business Intelligence: Is the Hydrogen Economy ready to take-off?
Hydrogen as a feedstock for the petrochemical industry Since the first demonstrations of water electrolysis some two hundred years ago, Hydrogen has witnessed many false dawns. As recorded by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its landmark report on the Future of Hydrogen, commissioned by the Japanese Presidency of the G20 in June 2019, hydrogen […]
MEDays Talks: [Webinar Recording] The future of the US-China relationship
What are the key challenges for the US-China relationship with a Biden Administration? MEDays Talk Discussion between Prof. Yong Wang, Andrew Leung and Alexandre Kateb
Macro Focus: Economic impact of Lockdowns 2.0
In order to contain the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, most European countries have implemented new lock-downs starting from Mid-October. As the Chart of the Week with data extracted from Google Mobility shows, the new “soft lockdowns” were overall significantly softer than the “hard lockdowns” implemented to contain the first wave of the pandemic, earlier this year in […]
Business Intelligence: China’s New EV roadmap for 2021-2035
China is the world’s largest car market with over 25 million vehicles sold in 2019, of which 1.2 million is comprised of EVs – around 55% of all EVs sold in the world that year.
China’s support to its EV industry is moving from a quantitative to a qualitative approach and from op-down heavy handed industrial policies to a market based approach supported by environmental incentives. This is reflected in the New roadmap for New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) for the 2021-2035 that has been published by the State Council.
Business Intelligence: China’s market regulators get tougher on Internet Platforms (网络交易监督管理办法)
The Chinese authorities are increasing their oversight of the country’s large Internet platforms.
The publication of the Draft Measures for the regulation of online trading (网络交易监督管理办法 – 征求意见稿) by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation China’s version of a global regulatory effort to prevent and to sanction some abusive practices which stem from the Platforms market power and dominant positions. The latest regulations put their focus on multihoming and other principles which are key for ensuring a fair competition in the digital age. Article 31 of the Draft Regulations prohibits abuses of market dominance by online trading operators.
Business Intelligence: US embargo on Chinese chip industry
The measures taken by the Trump Administration against Chinese technology firms go far beyond Huawei. The latest casualty is SMIC, China’s flagship semiconductor fabrication firm. China’s semiconductors industry is now having difficult times. The US-China dispute has morphed into a commercial embargo against Chinese semiconductors industry. It involves non-Chinese and non-US companies, first and foremost Taiwan’s TSMC and Korea’s Samsung. It could have far reaching consequences, leading to a new restructuring of this global industry.
The US 2020 election (3/3): The future of the US-China relationship
Revisiting George Kennan’s Containment Argument In February 1946, George Kennan, then an American diplomat in Moscow, sent his famed “Long Telegram“, which predicted the Soviets would only respond to force and that the best way to handle them would be through a long-term strategy of containment. The content of this telegram was later published by George […]
The US 2020 Presidential Election (1/3): The Social & Racial Issue
The 2020 US presidential election will probably be remembered as one of the most tense electoral contests in the nation’s history. Not only because it happens amid a global pandemic to which Americans paid a heavy human and material price. Political and social polarization is arguably at its highest level in the Land of the Free. There are many […]
Macro Focus: US Federal Debt and Deficits to 2050
The Congressional Budget Office published this week its annual Long-Term Budget Outlook presenting its projections of what federal deficits, debt, spending, and revenues would be for the next 30 years if current laws governing taxes and spending generally did not change. Federal deficits are projected to increase from 5% of gross GDP in 2030 to 13% by 2050. The projected budget deficits would boost federal debt to 104% of GDP in 2021, to 107% of GDP – the highest in US history – in 2023, and to a whopping 195% of GDP by 2050.
Future of Money: An update on China’s Digital Yuan Project
Known as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DC/EP), the CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) project piloted by the People’s Bank of China is so far the most advanced projet of its kind in the world. The introduction of a CBDC in the world’s most populous country and second largest economy may have far reaching consequences.