Author name: asiagroup

The Chinese government tends to “bestow” pandas on “nations with whom China’s relations are on the upswing, as a form of soft power projection,” said Kurt Tong, a former high-ranking US diplomat and managing partner of the Asia Group consultancy.

“In that respect, given the current tenor of US-China relations it is not surprising that Chinese authorities are allowing panda contracts with US zoos to expire,” Tong said in an email to AFP.

India’s manufacturing economy is undergoing a historic transition as the country emerges as a global hub for electronics production. Given the geopolitical and economic backdrop, policymakers have set an ambitious target of expanding this sector’s output to $300 billion by mid-2026.

Strictly speaking, IMEEC is not a corridor. A corridor implies goods travelling from a source to a market over a vast territory that contributes a pathway but no significant value addition. BRI is such a corridor. It is essentially a one-nation narrative – that of Chinese manufacturing seeking market access in distant countries. In contrast,

Ashok Malik, Partner & Chair of The Asia Group hails India’s presidency of G20. He says. India-Middle East Europe corridor has the potential to become transformative in terms of economic development and infrastructure.

For many corporations and governments, Central Asia has often been overlooked. Known for its five former Soviet Union “Stan” countries, with Kazakhstan leading as the region’s largest economy, the area has been treated like a “forgotten child.” However, that perception is changing due to two main factors: shifting geopolitical realities and China’s increasing interests.

“There will be strong focus on U.S. support for Vietnam’s development of its innovation economy, and that includes things like supporting semiconductor development, you know, workforce development and secure supply chains,” he said.

“What Modi has demonstrated, and what the U.S. is leaning into, is a leader who is willing to make bets on the future of the country,” Nirav Patel, the chief executive of the Asia Group and deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific under President Barack Obama, said in an interview. “The diplomatic as well as political stability that Modi enjoys allows this relationship to be more fruitful, and Biden has leaned into that.”

“The president’s visit, in some ways, is really just a victory lap against a lot of critics and skeptics in Asia, particularly those who believe that the U.S. is in relative decline,” said Nirav Patel, CEO of the U.S.-based Asia Group consultancy.