Deciphering Xi Jinping’s Vision and What It Means for the Tech Sector
Beijing is in the midst of a sweeping regulatory push, most notably targeting its technology giants over data security and anti-trust issues and its private education sector. Companies in these sectors are being forced to reassess their goals for overseas listings, while others are seeing their market valuations take a hit, or in some cases facing the risk of bankruptcy. Many industry experts have expressed shock and surprise at these recent actions.
China watcher Malcolm Riddell offers an alternative viewpoint for this policy trajectory. These actions, according to Mr. Riddell, are predictable and unsurprising in the context of the vast trove of official speeches, Party and State Council directives and policies, and supporting documentation in recent years.
Join us for a conversation with Malcolm Riddell to hear his thoughts on Xi Jinping’s vision for China and his analysis of what it means for the tech sector.
SPEAKER
Malcolm Riddell, Founder and President, RiddellTseng and CHINADebate
As investment banker, diplomat, lawyer, Harvard academic and CIA case officer, Malcolm Riddell has participated in China affairs for more than 40 years. For 20 of those years, he lived and worked in East Asia.
Malcolm founded RiddellTseng in 1988, a China-focused boutique investment bank advising on or doing deals in China for leading financial services, insurance, and real estate companies.
In 2012 Malcolm founded CHINADebate, an online analysis and event platform that informs issues on investment in China and international economies and markets that feel China’s impact.
Prior to establishing his own businesses, Malcolm served at multiple government agencies, including as a CIA case officer (spy) in China Operations & Special Operations Group paramilitary officer, U.S. delegate to the UN, and Florida Undersecretary of State for International Affairs. Malcolm is also a lawyer, board-certified in international law.
Malcolm is an Associate-in-Research at Harvard Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, a former Asia Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and a former Academic Leader and Instructor at Harvard Design School. He was also a Senior Visiting Fellow at Peking University.
Malcolm is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Malcolm holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, and a JD from Stetson University’s College of Law.
MODERATOR
Spencer Cohen, Principal and Founder, High Peak Strategy
Dr. Spencer Cohen is principal and founder of High Peak Strategy LLC, an international trade and economics research consulting firm based in Seattle, WA. He consults and writes extensively on international trade, China’s economy, industry clusters, and regional economic analysis. He has written opinion pieces in the South China Morning Post, The Daily Guardian (India), Puget Sound Business Journal, and Seattle Business Magazine. Prior to forming High Peak Strategy LLC, he served as senior economist with a Seattle-based economics consulting firm. He has also held policy and research roles with the State of Washington.
Spencer is a 2021-2023 Public Intellectuals Program fellow with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a 2020-2021 Seattle World Affairs Council Fellow, and Senior Fellow with Infinite Sum Modelling, an economics modeling and research firm whose clients include the World Bank, Asia Development Bank, and various national governments. Beginning this fall, he will also be an affiliate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Washington.
Dr. Cohen has a PhD in economic geography from the University of Washington. He has an MA in China Studies, also from the University of Washington, and BA in mathematics and history from the University of Connecticut.
- Event Recording: https://youtu.be/wf9-yWWDSgQ