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Aug 9, 2021

Roberts quoted in The Economist on the echoes of Mao Zedong’s “politics-in-command” economy

On August 9, Dexter Tiff Roberts was quoted in an article in The Economist that discussed Beiing’s movement on abandoning China’s old pro-growth model and the beginning of “real state capitalism.” Roberts highlights that senior officials in the US government believe that China will become “not just an economic superpower but a geopolitical and military one” […]

China Economy & Business

In the News

Aug 8, 2021

Roberts quoted in Nikkei Asia on the prospects of a potential boycott movement on Chinese firms

On August 8, Dexter Tiff Roberts was quoted in an article in Nikkei Asia that highlighted the potential of a global movement boycotting Chinese products due to humanitarian issues surrounding Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia. After the Tokyo Olympics, Roberts argues that “any company that considers a boycott doesn’t have a significant market presence in […]

China Economy & Business

In the News

Aug 6, 2021

Roberts quoted in Fortune on Beijing’s recent crackdowns on its technology giants

On August 6, Dexter Tiff Roberts was quoted in an article in Fortune that discussed Beijing’s outsize influence on China’s technology giants, highlighting that these companies contribute billions of dollars to the central government in order to escape scrutinization from the CCP. Roberts explains that “the sudden bout of gift-giving is certainly no guarantee that […]

China Economy & Business

Dexter Tiff Roberts is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub and the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, which is part of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He also serves as the founder and publisher of Trade War — a weekly newsletter on Chinese business and politics, with over five thousand subscribers and followers from government, finance, and academia — and is an award-winning writer and speaker on the Chinese economy and US-China relations. His analysis, writing, and commentary have been featured in Foreign Affairs, the Washington Post, Politico, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, NPR, the BBC, and CNN. He teaches Chinese politics at the University of Montana and is principal and founder of Cold Mountain LLC.

Roberts served for more than two decades as China bureau chief and Asia News Editor at Bloomberg Businessweek, based in Beijing, where he covered China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, the impact of the Global Financial Crisis, and the rise of authoritarian leader Xi Jinping. He has reported from all of China’s provinces and regions including Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as from Mongolia, Cambodia and North Korea. Previously he was director of China affairs at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center.

Roberts has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University and a Master of International Affairs focusing on China from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He studied at National Taiwan Normal University’s Mandarin Training Center in Taipei and speaks fluent Chinese. Roberts’ first book, The Myth of Chinese Capitalism: the Worker, the Factory and the Future of the World (St. Martin’s Press), was chosen as one of the Economist “best books of the year” for 2020, and was a best seller in Chinese, published by Taiwan’s Gusa Publishing.