Media Mentions

Vietnam is “a minor economic miracle here in Southeast Asia, but it’s run up against some pretty significant roadblocks,” said Daniel Kritenbrink, who was US ambassador to Vietnam fro 2017 to 2021 and is now a partner with The Asia Group consultancy. For many years, reform, innovation and even growth were stymied by an anti-corruption

“Neither side wants to rock the boat too much,” said George Chen, partner and co-chair of digital practice at The Asia Group. “The most important thing right now is head-of-state diplomacy.”

“The competition between domestic Chinese tech players [is] heating up again, which I believe is a good thing, you know, from the perspective of innovation,” said George Chen, a tech analyst with the Asia Group in Hong Kong. Chen says the spending on holiday promotions gave him a sense of deja vu. A decade ago, Alibaba

Domestic discourse on the latest Gulf War took a puzzling turn this past week. Has Islamabad re-established its strategic weight? Should India have taken on the role of peacemaker and mediator? The questions are silly and reductionist. They flow from an all-weather obsession with Pakistan.  They also mis-appreciate the primary purpose of foreign policy: sheltering

“For a country starved of global investor interest, aligning with Washington’s crypto pivot isn’t just about tech,” said Uzair Younus, who is a partner at The Asia Group, a Washington DC-based advisory firm. “It’s about signaling relevance in a shifting global order.”

Speaking from Beijing where he attended the China Development Forum, Daniel Kritenbrink, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2021–25, told The Australian that he was struck by the “level of confidence and optimism on the part of the Chinese.” Mr Kritenbrink, a partner at The Asia Group and

“Compared to previous CDFs, the China messaging was the most confident,” said Han Lin, China Country Director at the U.S.-based strategy consultancy, The Asia Group. “While identifying challenges in the international system and without naming the U.S. directly, Premier Li Qiang’s opening speech focused on what China was doing right to encourage innovation, trade, and

US executives were well represented this year, accounting for 45 per cent of invitees, according to an analysis by Han Shen Lin of the Asia Group. Europeans made up 36 per cent with the remainder from Asia, Australia and elsewhere. “Li didn’t name America . . . but the message is clear that China is now safer, more reliable

“China wants this war to end badly enough to act but not badly enough to be seen acting,” said Han Lin, China Country Director of The Asia Group. “China is almost certainly applying pressure but you just won’t see it on a podium.” On why China isn’t loudly pushing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz:

Trump is expected to put “enormous pressure” on Takaichi, said Kurt Campbell, the former U.S. deputy secretary of state in the Biden administration who is now chair of The Asia Group. Campbell said he’s never seen a meeting between U.S. and Japanese leaders carrying such high stakes. To press for Japan’s interests, he said, Takaichi