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Sinographs

Jul 31, 2025

Beijing extends and pretends to deal with its mountain of local government debt

By Jeremy Mark

Beijing’s three-year local debt restructuring plan fails to actually address the trillions of dollars weighing on local governments and will only cause greater problems down the road.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 29, 2025

Safeguarding Uyghur human rights: The US should leverage economic statecraft tools to end Uyghur forced labor

By Nazima Tursun

Through sanctions and the adoption of anti-forced labor legislation, the United States has led the global effort to combat China’s forced labor practices. While these measures have moved the needle in the fight against forced labor, widespread tariffs and the absence of new punitive measures targeting forced labor may cause progress to stagnate.

China Economic Sanctions

Econographics

Jul 21, 2025

Why European businesses are now stuck in the middle of an EU-China storm

By Alisha Chhangani

If relations continue to deteriorate, the world’s three major economies could find themselves in economic conflict and European businesses will be caught squarely in the middle. 

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 17, 2025

Charting a strategic path for Syria’s postwar reconstruction

By Kimberly Donovan, Jonathan Panikoff, Lize de Kruijf, Manal Fatima

As Syria emerges from over a decade of conflict, easing sanctions by the United States, the European Union (EU), and other European partners is an important step toward reintegrating Syria into the global economy. Yet, for a country that has been economically isolated for over fourteen years, lifting sanctions is only the beginning.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 14, 2025

Injecting new life into Europe’s life science industry to improve competitiveness

By Emma Nix

US turmoil under Trump has shaken the life sciences sector, prompting top researchers to consider leaving. Europe now has a rare chance to attract this talent and revive its biotech and pharma industries—but only if it moves quickly and decisively before China does.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 10, 2025

The stablecoin race

By Hung Tran, Barbara C. Matthews

Each country’s agenda is motivated by questions about the sustainability of the dollar’s dominant global role.

Digital Currencies Economy & Business
Stablecoins

Fintech Frontlines

Jul 8, 2025

Stablecoins are trending, but what frictions and risks are getting overlooked?

By Ashley Lannquist

Stablecoin usage is complex for consumers, and large-scale adoption could introduce new challenges for financial stability and regulatory oversight.

Digital Currencies Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 7, 2025

Building BRICS

By Bart Piasecki

Fifteen years after its founding, BRICS has evolved into a formidable counterweight to Western dominance in global economic governance. Yet despite its growing influence, the bloc’s ability to translate bold rhetoric into concrete results remains uncertain.

Brazil China

Econographics

Jun 23, 2025

From trade wars to capital wars: Section 899 could rattle global capital markets

By John Satory

Section 899 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act plans to tax certain foreign investors, testing investor confidence in America’s financial leadership and market stability.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Econographics

Jun 19, 2025

Hawks vs. doves: The split between the Fed and the ECB

By Bart Piasecki

While the ECB signals an end to its rate-cutting cycle, the Fed hesitates. This article explores the macroeconomic and policy reasons behind it.

Economy & Business European Union

Content

Econographics

May 21, 2024

The Euro’s share of international transactions is likely smaller than it looks 

By Hung Tran

And the renminbi’s is larger.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

May 21, 2024

Russia Sanctions Database: May 2024

By Kimberly Donovan, Maia Nikoladze, Ryan Murphy, and Alessandra Magazzino

The Atlantic Council’s Russia Sanctions Database tracks the restrictive economic measures Western allies have placed on Russia and evaluates whether these measures are successful in achieving the stated objectives.

China East Asia

Fintech Frontlines

May 14, 2024

What to do about ransomware payments

By Carole House

And why payment bans alone aren’t sufficient.

Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity

Econographics

May 8, 2024

‘Creative solutions’ with Russia’s immobilized assets must rise to the challenge Ukraine now faces

By Oleg Dunda

$280 billion of Russian reserves can be used more strategically–without crossing red lines–to get funding to Ukraine.

Economic Sanctions International Financial Institutions

Econographics

May 7, 2024

The Enrico Letta Report and the state of the EU’s Capital Market Union

By Hung Tran

The Letta report emphasizes transforming the EU's fragmented markets by prioritizing harmonization over new financial products, but achieving this requires a significant and sustained effort.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia
Central bank building with gate

Econographics

May 2, 2024

Understanding the plan to create a $50 billion Ukraine bond from Russia’s blocked assets

By Charles Lichfield, Mrugank Bhusari

The United States is pushing the G7 to consider a sovereign loan of $50 billion to Ukraine which would be repaid using the interest income on blocked Russian assets. Where does this $50 billion figure come from?

Economic Sanctions Russia

Econographics

May 1, 2024

How to improve the technical skill of the US national security workforce

By Lesley Chavkin, Eitan Danon, and Sigal Mandelker

We cannot expect to compete on the world stage without equipping the US civil service with the skills and experience needed to understand and harness the technological trends that will define the future. But if we want our best and brightest—our most ambitious and innovative—women and men to pursue federal service, we have to do a better job of proactively making the case why.

Economy & Business Future of Work

Econographics

Apr 30, 2024

The yen’s travails in an era of geopolitical rivalry

By Hung Tran

In an era marked by geopolitical tensions, the yen's depreciation underscores the broader economic fallout from a persistently strong dollar and rising US interest rates.

Economy & Business Indo-Pacific
Factory under construction

Econographics

Apr 29, 2024

The IMF warms to industrial policy—but with caveats

By Walter Frick

Industrial policy is making a comeback around the world. There’s no better sign of this than the new attention paid to subsidies by bastions of the Washington consensus like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has historically been very skeptical of them.

Fiscal and Structural Reform International Financial Institutions

Econographics

Apr 25, 2024

The basics of CBDC

By Alisha Chhangani and Leila Hamilton

The race for the future of money is on, so here are the key items to catch you up on what a central bank digital currency is—and what it isn’t.

Digital Currencies Economy & Business