Newsletter By 2025-04-03
Urban renewal is a relatively new challenge for China. For a long time, its economic system, including land, investment, and construction units, has been more suited to large-scale, rapid development, using mass production methods to develop urban spaces. Large urban construction projects have not fully considered the arrangement and flexibility needs of the urban population. As China quickly enters an aging and super-aged society, and as the economy is undergoing structural adjustments, the cities are facing numerous difficulties and challenges that urgently require urban renewal and transformation. The shift from large-scale development to more refined, people-oriented strategies will not naturally transition smoothly. This urban renewal model is unfamiliar to China’s development and construction institutions, whereas Japan has extensive experience in this regard, notes
Kung Chan, founder of ANBOUND, in an
article published in
CEOWORLD magazine. Therefore, Japan can serve as a model for China to navigate through such challenges as it attempts to remain relevant and crucial in the global market.
Yi Wang, ANBOUND's Head of Global Development Program, was invited to have delivered a keynote speech on market risks and challengeable backdrops against anti-globalization at 2025 Jiangsu Enterprises Going Overseas, which took place on March 28 in Nanjing city, Jiangsu province of China. The event was organized by Academy of Sushang and Jiangsu Sushang Development Promotion Association. There were around 200 entrepreneurs, mostly SMEs, who attended the event and shared dialogues with experts, business executives and local leaders. The discussions focused on geopolitical impacts on overseas investment, industry restructuring, as well as how to identify risks and new opportunities for the Chinese companies in global markets.
>> 【PRESENT VALUE】 As we continue to emerge from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, there is uncertainty (and plenty of hyperbole) about the future of downtowns. Once centers of commerce and weekday locales of millions of office workers, there are some underlying concerns about the obsolescence of downtown office space with the general acceptance of remote work across nearly all professional sectors. There is now an increasingly narrow demand pool of companies seeking space, especially at pre-pandemic levels. According to CoStar, there are more than one billion square feet of vacant office space nationally, not including leased space that is underutilized or available for sublease. Increasing office vacancy has led to a lot of commentary on the “doom loop” of prolonged office vacancy, or the chain of events leading to economic downturns that occur when office space is left empty and not repurposed. However, even with changes in the economy, central business districts have an opportunity to adapt and meet the moment,
writes Brian Licari, vice president at Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI).
For China, prioritizing the development of its own private security and military service industry is essential to protecting the safety and interests of Chinese enterprises operating abroad. In parts of the African continent, as long as such security activities align with a local political faction, they are unlikely to face significant international scrutiny. In recent years, violent attacks on Chinese businesses and employees in Africa have become increasingly frequent. In regions like Africa, where deploying regular military forces is impractical, China can consider establishing a private armed security group to serve as a strategic tool for safeguarding its interests. Wagner's model provides a reference, though China would likely need to approach it in a way that aligns with proper diplomatic principles and international ethical commitments, analyzed
Zhao Zhijiang, Research Fellow for Geopolitical Strategy programme at ANBOUND.
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