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Curated by Project Syndicate

China Bytes Back

5 commentaries

With 42% of global e-commerce, 11 times more mobile payments than in the United States, one-third of the world’s most successful tech start-ups, and President Xi Jinping’s powerful support, China seems poised to dominate the global digital economy in the same way it has come to dominate global manufacturing. But can it capitalize on its advantages?

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  1. The Challenges Confronting China’s Digital Economy
    Chinese customers look at the new iPhone X STR/Getty Images

    The Challenges Confronting China’s Digital Economy

    Dec 26, 2017 Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng highlight yet another reason why China must effectively delineate the roles of the state and the market.

  2. China, the Digital Giant
    A man looks at his phone near a giant image of the Chinese national flag Greg Baker/Getty Images

    China, the Digital Giant

    Dec 4, 2017 Kai-fu Lee & Jonathan Woetzel anticipate the next steps in the country's transition to a new echelon of global competitiveness.

  3. The Illusion of Freedom in the Digital Age
    Facial recognition program Ian Waldie/Getty Images

    The Illusion of Freedom in the Digital Age

    Nov 3, 2017 Mark Leonard foresees convergence in the impact of technology on autocratic and democratic societies.

  4. Regulating Across the Digital Divide
    Futuristic digital room Westend61/Getty Images

    Regulating Across the Digital Divide

    Sep 11, 2017 Shamel Azmeh sees risks for the global economy if trade rules are not expanded to include data-driven industries.

  5. China’s Dangerous Digital Agenda
    Digital chip CCD Matt Laskowsk/Flickr

    China’s Dangerous Digital Agenda

    Feb 23, 2015 Robert D. Atkinson & Paul Hofheinz claim that the country's online giants pose a bigger threat to Europe than America's.

  1. buruma200_Omer MessingerGetty Images_turkish voting erdogan Omer Messinger/Getty Images

    Nationalists Abroad

    Ian Buruma

    While facing an uphill political battle at home, Turkey’s recently re-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan handily won the diaspora vote. He did so by capitalizing on the resentment and alienation felt by second- and third-generation Turkish immigrants who often feel estranged in the countries where they were born.

    explains how displacement can make expatriates and minorities more susceptible to extremist ideologies.
  2. maude1_ROSLAN RAHMANAFP via Getty Images_chinadefenseminister Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images

    All Talk, No Dialogue on Asian Security

    Richard Maude

    Calls at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore to improve military-to-military communication between the US and China, especially in light of increasingly aggressive encounters at sea and in the air, fell on deaf ears. Despite the best efforts of the US and its allies, China is in no hurry to re-engage.

    considers the implications of the complete collapse of defense diplomacy between the US and China.
  3. gomera6_wayraGetty Images_AIsustainability wayra/Getty Images

    How AI Can Even the Climate Playing Field

    Maxwell Gomera shows how artificial intelligence can strengthen low-income countries' hand in global negotiations.
  4. owhite8_cemagraphicsGetty Images_worldeconomy cemagraphics/Getty Images

    Strengthening the Global Balance Sheet

    Olivia White, et al. outline four medium-term scenarios for the world economy, each implying dramatically different outcomes.
  5. gorodnichenko6rtur WidakNurPhoto via Getty Images_russian culture Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The Ukraine-Russia Culture War

    Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Ilona Sologoub survey the heated battles that have been playing out far from the physical battlefield.
  6. oneill120_NELSON ALMEIDAAFP via Getty Images_AImedicine Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images

    The Poverty of AI Pessimism

    Jim O'Neill questions the increasingly popular sentiment that the technology will be economically destabilizing.
  7. leonard89_ATTA KENAREAFP via Getty Images_saudi iran china ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

    The Post-American Middle East

    Mark Leonard explains how the region became a laboratory for a future in which the US is not the sole hegemon.
  8. wagner19_EZEQUIEL BECERRAAFP via Getty Images_ev EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP via Getty Images

    How to Think About Climate-Tech Solutions

    Gernot Wagner

    To think that technology will save us from climate change is to invite riskier behavior, or moral hazard. Whether a climate solution creates new problems has little to do with the solution, and everything to do with us.

    offers lessons for navigating a field that is fraught with hype, unintended consequences, and other pitfalls.
  9. issing16_Andreas RentzGetty Images_christinelagarde Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

    Can the ECB Escape Its Own Trap?

    Otmar Issing examines the policy dilemma facing central banks as they try to shrink their bloated balance sheets.

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