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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.
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
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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War and conflict

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

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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

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

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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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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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US President Donald Trump speaks to media aboard Air Force One on November 14, while in flight from Washington to West Palm Beach International Airport. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
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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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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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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US President Donald Trump looks on as people wave Malaysian national flags before he departs on Air Force One from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on October 27. Photo: AFP
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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Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, on March 22, 2022. Photo: Pool via Reuters
Rare earths

Outside In | Trump may be realising he has less leverage over China than he thought

The past week has provided a rare insight into the fudging and bullying that goes on behind the closed doors of high-stakes trade talks.

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Diplomacy

Outside In | Trump has the megaphone but WTO deal shows multilateralism not dead

After 25 years of disagreement and procrastination, WTO members have agreed to ratify a deal to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies.

Northern Metropolis

Outside In | To speed up Northern Metropolis construction, get in bamboo scaffolders

Bamboo scaffolders offer speed, cost efficiency and sustainability. And the boom in demand will give the ancient craft a much-needed lifeline.

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A scaffolding worker working on Causeway Place at Great George Street, in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on April 7. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong society

Outside In | Big bucks in government procurement makes it a honeypot for corruption

Transparency, good audits, appeal channels and channels for whistle-blowers might provide some checks – but never a foolproof solution.

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Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu (centre) chairs the first meeting of the Task Force on Review of Government Procurement Regime on August 21. Photo: ISD
China trade

Outside In | Why Global South holds winning trade cards despite Trump’s bluster

Outside the US, new consumer markets have been gathering critical mass as their populations have grown and incomes have risen.

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Banking & finance

Outside In | Why ending US dollar peg isn’t the answer Hong Kong needs

The dollar peg still does yeoman’s work for the city, while promoting the yuan in trade finance and settlement would enhance what it has built.

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Banking & finance

Outside In | Having funded Asian infrastructure for a decade, what next for the AIIB?

Having survived Obama’s opposition, the development bank established by China will soon have a new president in a tricky Trumpian environment.

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Zou Jiayi, China’s former vice-minister of finance, has been elected the next president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Photo: Handout
European Union

Outside In | Europe’s vow to Trump to push defence budget to 5% rings hollow

Amid voter defiance and record debt, anyone who believes the governments will find an extra US$2.7 trillion by 2035 is living in dreamland.

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United States

Outside In | As costs of Trump’s chaos become clear, expect him to shift the blame

Trump’s supporters seem certain the damage his policies cause will be short-lived, but they may change their minds as the trade wars drag on.

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Hong Kong economy

Outside In | Mark Twain was wrong. Travel is not as fatal to prejudice as hoped

For every traveller open to learning from our differences, there is another impregnably confident in the superiority of his or her culture.

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Foreign tourists relax on Kuta Beach on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali in November 2023. Photo: AFP
United States

Outside In | How sustainable is a US economy heavily dependent on arms sales?

Trump’s Gulf tour and his proposed budget highlight a disproportionate US reliance on its military-industrial complex.

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman receives US President Donald Trump at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Outside In | China’s message on trade deals is clear: multilateral is the only way

The choice of the Swiss city of Geneva for US-China negotiations was telling, and the breakthroughs achieved are only the start of a long process.

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United States

Outside In | Trump’s ‘make Hollywood great again’ script may not have a happy ending

The US president has proposed a 100 per cent tariff on films made abroad, but this is hardly what the entertainment industry needs.

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United States

Outside In | Uncertainty unleashed by Trump 2.0 will exact a high price

Companies and countries alike are seeing hedging costs hit the roof amid a loss of trust and certainty in the US, the dollar and Treasuries.

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A trader at the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell on April 21, as Wall Street stocks opened lower amid lingering uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s trade policy. Photo: AFP
Pope Francis

Outside In | Why the next pope may be Asian or African

The centre of faith is moving away from the West, a shift that could add impetus to the late pope’s reforms.

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Pilgrims and visitors queue at St Peter’s Square to enter the St Peter’s Basilica and pay their respects to the late Pope Francis in the Vatican on April 23. Photo: AFP
China economy

Opinion | Cities power growth. China has more megacities than anyone else

Many Chinese cities have country-sized economies. Places some Westerners haven’t heard of would have UN seats if they were countries.

United States

Outside In | Real threat posed by Trump’s tariffs worse than a global recession

The US president cannot be allowed to replace world’s hard-won multilateral compromise and cooperation with bullying bilateralism.

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