Media Mentions

The minister’s speech has set the overall tone for U.S.-China relations for the year, said George Chen of consultancy The Asia Group, indicating “a welcoming gesture from Beijing for Trump to come and visit.” The “Chinese side is prepared to talk,” he said, adding that Beijing wants to be clear that China is ready to […]

Mr George Chen, partner at Washington-based advisory firm The Asia Group, told ST that he is confident that the Trump-Xi summit will proceed as planned. He noted the positive rhetoric from Mr Wang, such as the latter’s expectation that 2026 would be a “healthy, stable and sustainable year” for US-China relations. Mr Chen believes the

“It’s less about chasing GDP growth and more about making China less vulnerable to external pressure — whether that’s U.S. sanctions, supply chain disruptions, or energy shocks,” said Han Lin, China Country Director of The Asia Group.

(Start 0:06:30) “Energy security – whether via Russia oil purchases or renewables investment- is central to China’s plan for economic stability,” said Han Lin, China Country Director of The Asia Group.

Lin Han-Shen, China director at The Asia Group, said the report was “surprisingly candid” – that consumption had been a problem rather than a strength in 2025. He said the frank admission that demand had lagged set a deliberately low baseline – one that reflected a clear-eyed assessment of where China’s economy actually stood rather

“The Government Work Report was ‘surprisingly candid’ that weak consumption and investment have weighed heavily on growth momentum,” said Han Shen Lin, China country director at The Asia Group.

During one conversation, Abraham Denmark, a former senior adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Noelle Troutman, a political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa, discussed the role of AUKUS and the development of new military technologies. Denmark said countries are rapidly deploying novel means of waging war. “We’re beyond the experimental

Rexon Ryu, President of The Asia Group, says the US administration appears to have seen a window of opportunity to enact regime change in Tehran and that we are in a period of extreme uncertainty. He also discusses how this impacts the dynamics of Trump’s upcoming trip to Beijing and investments into the Gulf region.

The Asia Group’s [China Country Director Han] Lin said policy language would provide clues about how Beijing is responding to Western restrictions.  “Look for references to supply chain security, AI, and advanced manufacturing. The emphasis will reveal how Beijing is adjusting its response to US and EU controls.”

“China can’t pivot to domestic demand fast enough to offset collapsing export margins and absorb an oil price shock simultaneously,” said Han Lin, the China country director for the Asia Group, a consulting firm. “The U.S. trade war compresses the very profits Chinese industry needs to fund the green-energy transition that would reduce Middle East