Our Insights
Featured Insights Selected by Our Experts
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The Return of the Koh Ker Ganesha
with Brad Gordon, Channy Set, and Nguon Chhay Song | Hosted by Deborah Lehr
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CES, Digital Trade, and the Future of Tech Supply Chains
with Ed Brytzwa | Hosted by Jake E. Jennings
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Iran, The Days After: The Succession
By the Basilinna team
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Why China Is Pushing Trade Facilitation Despite a Record Surplus
By Leigh Wedell and Ruihan Huang
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Mexico Now America’s Top Trading Partner as USMCA Review Looms
By Abel Hibert, Senior Fellow
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Nature as National Asset: How the Middle East Is Turning Biodiversity into Economic Opportunity
By Basilinna Deborah Lehr, Chair and CEO.
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China Economic Stimulus Tracker
A comprehensive timeline of announcements and policy actions implemented by the Chinese government to stimulate economic activity.
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From the Middle Kingdom to the Saudi Kingdom: Opportunities Abound
By Yasser Elnaggar, Chair of the Middle East and Africa
Explore all of our Insights, Interviews, Commentary, and More
Coal Is Rising in China’s Clean Energy Transition
By Deborah Lehr, Chair and CEO, and Ruihan Huang, Director
China’s energy transition is entering a more complex phase than commonly assumed. While the country is rapidly scaling up renewable energy – China now leads the world in both investment and deployment – coal production and coal power investment are also increasing.
See you on the field: America’s coming decade of sports diplomacy
By Deborah Lehr, Chair and CEO
More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek orator Isocrates observed that athletic festivals allowed people to set aside their conflicts, gather together, and renew bonds that united them. The ancient Greeks understood something: Sports have always been a form of diplomacy.
USMCA 2026 and Economic Security: The Convergence of Technology, Trade, and National Security
By Jake E. Jennings, Chair of Technology and Trade
The USMCA Review Is Becoming a Test of North American Technology Security. The 2026 review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement was initially framed as a routine, if politically sensitive, “check-in” trade exercise.
Mexico Now America’s Top Trading Partner as USMCA Review Looms
By Abel Hibert, Senior Fellow
Since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has made reducing the trade deficit with key partners—Mexico, Canada, and China—a central goal of his trade policy. In 2024, the combined deficit with these countries reached $545.7 billion USD.
Saudi Arabia’s Washington Visit: A New Chapter in a Strategic Economic Partnership
By Deborah Lehr, Chair and CEO
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent visit to Washington represents a turning point in the U.S.–Saudi relationship. While the headlines focused on major geostrategic outcomes—advancing the sale of the F-35, deeper cooperation on emerging technologies, and renewed attention to regional stability including Sudan—the foundation of the visit was unmistakably economic.
The Next AI Era: Technology, Regulation, and Geopolitics
By John Mulligan, Executive Director
On a recent video call conducted almost entirely in a language I don’t speak, I gave myself a challenge: could I build a real-time translator using AI before the call ended? With only partial comprehension and a handful of tools, I improvised a solution by combining open-source software and NVIDIA’s CUDA libraries, the company’s parallel computing platform that powers most advanced AI systems.
Nature as National Asset: How the Middle East Is Turning Biodiversity into Economic Opportunity
September 5, 2025 | Deborah Lehr, Chair and CEO
For decades, the Middle East’s biodiversity was overlooked—not because it lacked value, but because that value was not fully recognized. Today, countries across the region are reframing nature as a strategic national asset.
Pollinators of the Night: How Bats Sustain Ecosystems, Agriculture, and Tequila
September 9, 2025 | Chynna Hawes, Senior Vice President
In the U.S., bats are perhaps better known for their pest control services. In one night, a single bat can eat thousands of crop-damaging insects, reducing the need for chemical pesticides, lowering costs for farmers, and at the same time, supporting the health of other pollinators.
Cutting Subsidies, Boosting Consumption
August 18, 2025 | Gracie Sun, Chair of Asia-Pacific
In July 2025, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) set new provincial renewable energy targets. Since 2018, China has been building a provincial-level green electricity quota system, requiring provinces to consume a portion of renewable energy in their energy mix.
China’s Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage Signals Its Global Ambition
August 14, 2025 | Deborah Lehr, Chair and CEO
China is making its cultural heritage protection a national priority – and a pillar of its global identity. As one of the world’s fastest-growing art markets, China has taken steps in recent years to better safeguard its cultural heritage, both at home and abroad.