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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.
People enjoy the beach as well as the Hollywood Beach boardwalk on February 10 in Hollywood, Florida. Hollywood, also known as the “Quebec of the South,” has seen fewer French-Canadian tourists in 2026 due to recent tensions between the US and Canada. Photo: Getty Images / AFP
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

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United States

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

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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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US President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 22. Photo: AP
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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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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A couple kiss next to a Christmas tree in Kyiv, Ukraine, during celebrations before a curfew on December 31. Photo: Reuters
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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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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Hong Kong is not immune to global geopolitical and economic headwinds, but it has reasons to be grateful. Photo: Shutterstock
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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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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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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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.

WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala addresses delegates during a session on fisheries subsidies at the 13th ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi on February 26, 2024. Photo: AFP
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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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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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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From left, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping attend a family photo ceremony before the Brics summit plenary session in Kazan, Russia, on October 23, 2024. Photo: Reuters
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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People walk past by a billboard showing foreign currencies in Sheung Wan. The Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US dollar has been in place since October 1983 and survived every attempt to undermine or destabilise it so far. Photo: May Tse
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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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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US President Donald Trump speaks as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and then Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick listen as Trump prepares to sign an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on February 3. Photo: AP
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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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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