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Inside Out & Outside In

Inside Out & Outside In
In wide-ranging columns appearing twice a week, David Dodwell, executive director of the Hong Kong-Apec Trade Policy Group, strives to understand and describe the distinctive characteristics at the heart of Hong Kong's continuing competitive advantages. It promises to be a fascinating journey as he seeks to understand and describe the forces that have shaped and are changing Hong Kong, and the role it is playing for China and in the region as we move steadily closer to 2047.
Workers take a break with the city skyline of Dubai seen in the background on March 11. Photo: AFP
Middle East

Outside In | How Trump’s war on Iran is jeopardising Asia’s remittance lifeline

In Gulf economies, lost migrant jobs and remittances risk plunging millions across Asia into crisis.

Diplomacy

Outside In | Xi-Trump summit aside, 2 meetings in Asia matter for global trade

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China economy

Outside In | Prepare for ‘China shock 3.0’ to the global food economy

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China economy

Outside In | China’s manufacturing rise is here to stay. The West must recalibrate

The changes are structural and protectionism will only weaken long-term growth.

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Robots work on production lines at a mould and stamping company in Fuzhou, in China’s eastern Fujian province, on April 16. Photo: AFP
Food and agriculture

Outside In | The Iran war is brewing a food crisis we must avert

The world’s focus has been on energy shortages but famine and widening food insecurity are faces of the same coin.

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Apple

Outside In | My love-hate relationship with Apple as an Android user

As Apple marks 50 years amid market and political pressures, the company has inspired jealousy but also admiration for what it has achieved.

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US-China relations

Opinion | 3 reasons Xi-Trump summit won’t be a waste of time for China

Despite current tensions and dim prospects for meaningful progress, Beijing should still roll out the red carpet.

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US President Donald Trump, left, and President Xi Jinping pose for a photo at the Forbidden City in Beijing on November 8, 2017. Photo: AFP
Trade

Opinion | As Trump wrecks trade, WTO meeting in Cameroon is a show of defiance

Trade ministerial conference shows that most nations still value multilateral cooperation over the chaotic whims of a hegemon.

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Trade

Outside In | As Iran war escalates, the US ramps up its trade war

The White House’s Section 301 investigations may be less dramatic than war, but they risk retaliation and trade breakdowns.

China economy

Opinion | China’s energy transition proves a boon in the Iran crisis

China is expected to face no significant disruption but as the ‘two sessions’ open in Beijing, energy security is staying a top focus.

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Fire and smoke rise from the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris from an intercepted drone, according to the Fujairah media office, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 4, as Iran launched retaliatory attacks across the region. Photo: EPA
Artificial intelligence

Outside In | Everyone agrees that AI is big. No one agrees on what comes next

Job fears, environmental strain and security threats are fuelling the botlash, yet experts remain divided over its net impact – and our ability to contain the risks.

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A protest against Elon Musk’s xAI, federal law enforcement agents, the deployment of the National Guard during the “Get Out of Memphis” protest in Tennessee, US, on October 4, 2025. Photo: AFP
Trade

Outside In | Try as it might, the US alone can’t reverse the tide of globalisation

Accounting for a significant share of world trade, Europe and Asia are far more decisive players in the fast-changing globalised economy.

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United States

Outside In | Will tourism slump force Trump to rethink his unilateral approach?

The US president’s policies have antagonised many the world over and may hit attendance at mega-events like the Fifa World Cup, with political repercussions.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Outside In | Apec’s quiet cooperation still matters in a noisy, divided world

Year-round, multiple intensive working meetings keep the forum an ‘engine room’ of cooperation, reflecting its commitment to multilateralism.

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A group photo at the Apec informal senior officials’ meeting in Shenzhen, China on December 12, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
United States

Outside In | Gradually, then suddenly, the world is waking up to the US threat

Middle powers are pivoting to Beijing and hedging with new partners as China’s economic displacement of the US rapidly expands.

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US President Donald Trump raises his fist after a “Board of Peace” meeting at the World Economic Forum annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, on January 22. Photo: AFP
United States

Outside In | Why Trump’s Davos farce may come to be seen as a watershed

Whatever his motivations, he’s alarmed allies and made clear the old order based on a benign US is gone, even as his popularity slips at home.

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China society

Outside In | We are speeding towards a demography of loneliness

The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.

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Hong Kong politics

Outside In | To root out corruption, Hong Kong fire probe must go beyond scapegoats

Public procurement failures often reflect government responsibility, and Hong Kong’s fire investigation must confront that reality.

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Members of the independent investigation committee of the Wang Fuk Court fire, wearing protective suits, inspect the fire scene on December 23. Photo: Jelly Tse
War and conflict

Outside In | 2025 was the year of denial. What now?

Despite the threat of wars, tariffs, climate change and AI, normality has persisted. But it can only be a matter of time before such contradictions explode.

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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Outside In | As the US pursues unilateralism, China faces challenging task as Apec host

China’s return as Apec chair is an opportunity to show that both the organisation and its message of multilateralism are as relevant as ever.

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Diplomacy

Outside In | Six years on, are we better prepared for the next pandemic?

Preparedness plans remain a work in progress while health budgets have been sliced by urgent demands and US withdrawal weakens global coordination.

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A woman walks past the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, Britain, on November 20. Photo: EPA
United States

Outside In | It’s an expensive Christmas for Americans thanks to Trump’s tariffs

It’s been years since the US president extolled the virtues of trade wars: how much longer before he recognises tariffs harm the US economy?

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People walk by shop windows decorated for Christmas in New York on December 5. Photo: dpa
Hong Kong economy

Outside In | 3 overlooked economic strengths that will serve Hong Kong well

The city’s low debt, absence of a need to spend on defence and reliance on services are huge comparative advantages in the world today.

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United States

Outside In | Trump’s G20 boycott sums up a year of US attacks on multilateralism

Despite the duress, most countries clearly do not prefer Trumpian unilateralism. But while multilateralism is not dead, it is limping badly.

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Climate change

Outside In | Takeaway from Cop30: climate action needs to be up close and local

A focus on adaptation means a pivot to action on floods, typhoons, heatstroke deaths, wildfire damage – issues of immediate survival.

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Construction workers put up large umbrellas in Wan Chai on May 23, when a very hot weather warning was issued. Hong Kong has suffered 50 to 60 hot nights (over 28 degrees) every year since 2020, compared with around 20 a year a decade earlier. Photo: Dickson Lee
United States

Outside In | On giving the White House a big beautiful ballroom, Trump may be right

Given past renovations, Trump’s ballroom hardly sets a precedent. Besides, why should the most powerful nation on Earth make do with a tent?

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US President Donald Trump points to a model of the White House and proposed ballroom as he speaks during a ballroom fundraising dinner in the East Room of the White House on October 15. Photo: TNS
United States

Outside In | Trump’s unilateralism in Asia makes ‘world minus one’ clear

While the US president’s trip to the region coincided with multilateral summits, he was clearly more interested in bilateral deals.

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Tesla

Outside In | Elon Musk’s proposed payout shows far reach of the ‘genius myth’

While the company might have its reasons for the proposed US$1 trillion package, there are less controversial ways to ensure future growth.

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