Executive Summary: The number of Russian companies registered both in Russia and Georgia that are winning Georgian state tenders is increasing, even though Russia has occupied 20 percent of Georgia’s territory since Moscow’s 2008 invasion of Georgia. Russian companies winning Georgian state contracts became more... MORE

Executive Summary: In early August, the Kremlin began discussing a project to move approximately 170 large state corporations from Moscow to the regions where they extract profits, primarily from natural resources.  Putin’s “de-Moscowization” moves remain nominal, as state corporations maintain executive offices in Moscow and... MORE

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

Executive Summary: Beijing has tracked Russia’s response to what it perceives as financial warfare from the United States and its allies and has begun mitigating its vulnerabilities and building an offensive toolkit in response. Chinese experts take confidence from Moscow’s resilience in face of more... MORE

Executive Summary: Xi Jinping has elevated Command Innovation to the core logic of the People’s Republic of China’s economy—superseding traditional growth drivers by fusing “self-reliant” strategic-industrial planning with direct financial control. This engineered system gives Beijing new leverage over how capital is deployed and who... MORE

Executive Summary: The Xi Jinping–Lee Jae Myung phone call on June 10 signals a tactical thaw after years of strain under Yoon Suk Yeol, reviving “good-neighborly friendship” language and soft power channels Beijing had suspended when Yoon restarted work on deploying the U.S. missile defense... MORE

Executive Summary: Brazil, a strategic partner to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is taking a co-leading role in shaping a regional economic order decoupled from U.S.-centric trade and financial norms. The most consequential outcome of President Lula’s recent visit to Beijing was the signing... MORE

Executive Summary: Predicting artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepSeek’s recent successes within a highly competitive AI ecosystem may have been possible by observing factors such as government recognition, proximity to top-tier national research institutions, and a complex network of corporate affiliates with proven technology expertise. Indicators... MORE

Executive Summary: The contrasting fates of foreign companies in two recent fraud cases suggest that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) treats firms differently depending on their political utility. AstraZeneca has been guilty of widespread medical insurance fraud but has probably been treated leniently by... MORE

Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to use Hong Kong to test policies and build support for the internationalization of its currency, the renminbi (RMB). The city is now the world’s largest offshore RMB clearing center. The Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS)... MORE