Global trade Archives - Nicholas Mitsakos

China, the US, and the Long Game

Aug 26, 2025Nicholas MitsakosArticle, Book Chapter, China, geopolitics, globalization, Lectureschina, Global trade, globalization, politics, public policy, supply chains, technology, trade, volatility

The United States and China play global economic and political chess games. There are numerous moves and defensive and offensive strategies, not only for trade but also for energy and natural resources (rare earths, among the most recent sources of discord), geopolitics (Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and the Middle East generally), technology (Taiwan and AI), and global economic supremacy. It’s a long list, but China and the US drive the outcomes. Let’s be clear, Apple designed the iPhone, but it was China’s manufacturing workforce that made it a global phenomenon. China’s millions of engineers and factory workers accumulate practical hands-on knowledge from experience that cannot be easily transferred. This sustainable advantage creates new industries, including electric vehicles, drones, and alternative energy, with world-leading expertise. In the meantime, America’s engineering expertise has been hollowed out. It is naïve to imagine wrestling China back to the past. The project, now, is to contest its moral vision of the future. Connected, collaborative engagement is the only practical way. China has come a long way, and its trajectory cannot be ignored or dismissed. The U.S. and China will be much better off from this more enlightened, realistic perspective.

The US, China, and Asia

May 3, 2025Nicholas MitsakosArticle, geopolitics, Lectures, Public Policy, Tradechina, Geopolitics, Global trade, investments, public policy, risk, trade, trade barriers, volatility

The global investment landscape has reached a structural inflection point. Geopolitical realignments, industrial policy, and national security concerns are reshaping the era of frictionless globalization. At the center of this transformation is the intensifying strategic competition between the United States and China.
The US is acting belligerently toward China in trade negotiations, threatening exorbitant tariff rates and trying to build walls around China’s international trade activity. All this may be a high-volume attempt to bring China to the table to strike a better trade arrangement. While this tactic is unprecedented, we may only be in the third inning of a nine-inning game. The current geopolitical and economic transition is both a challenge and a multi-decade opportunity. Capital will increasingly flow to regions that demonstrate policy consistency, innovation capacity, and demographic vibrancy. Strategic sectors such as AI, defense, semiconductors, energy, digital infrastructure, and cybersecurity will drive private and public investment.
Embracing this new reality of regional diversification, thematic depth, and geopolitical foresight will position participants to thrive.
As multipolarity replaces global uniformity, success lies with active, strategic alignment with the forces shaping the next economic era.

Globalization Under Threat

Mar 18, 2024Nicholas MitsakosArticle, Book Chapter, China, Class Material, globalization, Lectures, Public PolicyGlobal trade, globalization, India, innovation, mexico, public policy, russia, technology, trade barriers

The paranoia is building. From the CHIPS Act to proposals for absurdly high tariffs (60% on goods from China isn’t going to help anyone) to banning TikTok, the world is on the verge of reversing decades of progress and exchanging real progress for delusionary gains.
Efforts to localize production and economic development with vast government subsidies are being proposed or enacted in the United States, the EU, China, India, and any other economic center that can think of it.
Hiding behind walls has never worked and makes life worse for everyone.

China, Prosperity, and Free Markets

Feb 13, 2024Nicholas MitsakosArticle, China, globalization, Transformative Businesses, UncategorizedBureaucracy, capital markets, china, Communist Party, Free markets, Global trade, innovation, public policy, technology

Chairman Xi faces more significant problems than just a declining stock market. Future prosperity, innovation, and China’s global position in advanced technologies are at stake. Bureaucratic regulation and central government money are not the answer, and an uncomfortable truth for communist bureaucrats is that a free market, access to venture capital and private equity, and vibrant public markets are essential for China’s success. A volatile market is still best at attributing value and allocating capital over time. China’s entrepreneurs have brilliance, incomparable fortitude, and a strong work ethic, but without capital and liquidity for that capital, the ship will run aground.

Permanent capital is essential for the growth of an economy, innovation, and prosperity. Liquidity is essential for that capital.

Nicholas Mitsakos

Investor, Entrepreneur, Writer, and Lecturer