Latest Articles about Economics

PRC Investment in Russian Economy Increasingly Important as Sanctions Deepen
Executive Summary: Russia has become increasingly dependent on trade with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with more than a third of Russia’s total trade turnover being generated by the PRC. The recent memorandum on the development... MORE

Kremlin’s War Economy Driving Recession in Russia’s Regions
Executive Summary: Official economic data on the first six months of 2025 indicates that Russia’s war economy is stagnating as military industries absorb resources from civilian sectors. In the first half of 2025, 67 of Russia’s 89 regions reported severe budget deficits, with industrial hubs... MORE

Middle Corridor Expands with PRC’s Growing Role and TRIPP Agreement
Executive Summary: China Railway Container Transport Corp. Ltd, on August 7, joined the Middle Corridor Multimodal Ltd, a joint railway venture between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia, to facilitate the development of the Middle Corridor. Progress on the Zangezur Corridor, rebranded as Trump Route for International... MORE

Ordinary Russians Can No Longer Ignore the War
Executive Summary: Independent experts and Russian officials agree that the economy is stagnating. Some analysts suggest that this will not lead to an end to the war, but rather to the final restructuring of the economy to a state of complete war readiness. Such a... MORE

Putin’s Vladivostok Forum Underwhelming and Alarming
Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 5 attended the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok following the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and military parade in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). He discussed the war against Ukraine and Russia’s economic situation. The Kremlin likely... MORE

Embodied Intelligence: The PRC’s Whole-of-Nation Push into Robotics
Executive Summary: Since 2015, Beijing has pursued a whole-of-nation strategy to dominate intelligent robotics, combining vertical integration, policy coordination, rapid deployment, and local experimentation. This approach has already achieved several of its core objectives. Policy documents articulate an official focus on core trends and technologies... MORE

Smart Device Empire, Part 2: Policy Underpins PRC’s Global IoT Ambitions
Executive Summary: Beijing views control over the platforms, standards, and data flows of the Internet of Things (IoT) era as a source of lasting structural leverage, and has spent more than a decade positioning itself at the center of this emerging system. The PRC’s share... MORE

Hong Kong’s Crypto Bet Is Starting To Pay Off
Executive Summary: Hong Kong launched a new stablecoin regime on August 1, continuing its cautious embrace of emerging financial products nearly three years after declaring its intention to become a digital assets hub. In anticipation of the new regime, July saw a flurry of fundraising... MORE

Evolving Blue Economy Propels PRC Maritime Ambitions
Executive Summary: Beijing’s maritime strategy hinges on expanding what it calls the “blue economy,” which is increasingly integrated with broader strategic ambitions under the rubric of becoming a “strong sea power.” Central government policies and five-years plans call for deeper cross-regional integration to support the... MORE

Ukraine’s Economic Struggles Signal Barriers to Post-War Recovery
Executive Summary: Ukraine’s soaring fiscal deficit, trade imbalances, and stalled reforms undermine post-war reconstruction planning. Foreign investments critical for recovery are also deterred by judicial inefficiencies, incomplete energy sector reforms, and entrenched corruption. Uncertain financial aid, monetary instability, and mismanaged state assets limit prospects for... MORE