AI, Competition and China’s Next Era: Nick Leung

AI, Competition and China’s Next Era: Nick Leung

Nick Leung is the former Chairman of McKinsey's Greater China operation and Director of the McKinsey Global Institute in Hong Kong. With dual Swiss-Chinese heritage and three decades advising Chinese and multinational companies, he brings a rare inside-out perspective on the world's second-largest economy.   His new book, co-authored with Joe Ngai, is The Next China is Still China — and in this conversation, he explains exactly why the title is not simply a slogan.  Drawing on his experience at the centre of China's extraordinary economic transformation, Leung argues that the search for the "next China" fundamentally misunderstands the nature of China's role in the global system.   Nine out of ten things made in China stay in China: the country is not simply an export platform but the world's most dynamic consumer market, and its combination of scale, supply-chain depth and brutal domestic competition has forged genuinely world-class industries in electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals and robotics.   He argues that this competitive intensity — what he calls the Hunger Games model, where thousands of companies enter a sector and most are destroyed — is Schumpeter's creative destruction operating at a speed and scale the world has not previously seen.  The conversation explores the concept of involution and what it means for investors, why the US-China AI race is not a race at all but two distinct ecosystems pursuing fundamentally different objectives, the structural reasons multinationals are struggling in China and what the successful ones are doing differently, and the succession wave now bearing down on Chinese family businesses — a risk that, because the Chinese economic miracle happened all at once, is arriving across multiple major companies simultaneously.  For business leaders, the core message is clear: China is not a market you can read from the outside, and geopolitics cannot be treated as someone else's problem.   As Leung puts it — "You're not interested in geopolitics, but geopolitics is interested in you" — and that, he says, applies to every single decision-maker operating in the world today.  Host: Sam Gyimah, Founder and CEO of SG& Capital Partners  Producers: Clare Williamson and Duncan Williamson for TGOB Media Ltd in partnership with SG& Capital Partners Ltd.  Music composed by: Sophie Sirota  For listener questions or business inquiries please email info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com [info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com], and to contact SG& Capital Partners please email info@sgand.com [info@sgand.com].  Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered or relied upon as financial, investment, legal or tax advice. While we seek to ensure the information shared is accurate and up to date at the time of release, no warranties or representations are made regarding its accuracy or completeness and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed. The opinions and views expressed in this podcast are solely the participant’s own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of SG&.        ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Financing Ukraine’s war economy: Mikael Björknert, Group CEO, PrivatBank

In this episode Mikael Björknert, CEO of PrivatBank, joins Sam to discuss what it means to run Ukraine’s largest bank during a full-scale war. As head of the country’s largest state-owned bank, Mikael offers a rare front-line perspective on how financial infrastructure, operational resilience and national security have become inseparable in wartime Ukraine.    The conversation covers how wartime conditions have forced a level of speed and adaptability on the bank that outpaces many Western organisations and also examines Ukraine’s wider economic trajectory, from the rise of the drone economy and the role of international investors to PrivatBank’s eventual privatisation as part of the country’s EU accession path.     Mikael reflects on the resilience of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, the bank’s work supporting veterans and why investors waiting for complete stability may find that the real opportunity has already passed.    Host: Sam Gyimah, Founder and CEO of SG& Capital Partners  Producers: Clare Williamson and Duncan Williamson for TGOB Intelligence Ltd in partnership with SG& Capital Partners Ltd.  Music composed by: Sophie Sirota  For listener questions or business inquiries please email info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com, and to contact SG& Capital Partners please email info@sgand.com [info@sgand.com].    You can find a summary of the key points in this episode in The Geopolitics of Business Newsletter.  Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered or relied upon as financial, investment, legal or tax advice. While we seek to ensure the information shared is accurate and up to date at the time of release, no warranties or representations are made regarding its accuracy or completeness and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed. The opinions and views expressed in this podcast are solely the participant’s own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of SG&.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

SpaceX, technological sovereignty and the American Dream: Anthony Scaramucci

In this episode, Sam Gyimah speaks with Anthony Scaramucci — founder of SkyBridge Capital, co-host of The Rest Is Politics: USA, and former White House Communications Director.  Ahead of the SpaceX IPO, Anthony explores what the rise of the commercial space economy, the concentration of tech power, and the evolution of digital assets mean for business and investors.   He reflects with Sam on the risks and rewards of investing in space, the state of US capitalism, and the strategic importance of the American public-private innovation model.  The conversation also examines the K-shaped economy, the narrowing of the American Dream, and the growing influence of major technology platforms on markets and policy. Scaramucci also sets out his view on crypto and the role blockchain-based assets could play in the future of finance.  Host: Sam Gyimah, Founder and CEO of SG& Capital Partners  Producers: Clare Williamson and Duncan Williamson for TGOB Media Ltd in partnership with SG& Capital Partners Ltd.  Music composed by: Sophie Sirota  For listener questions or business inquiries please email info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com [info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com], and to contact SG& Capital Partners please email info@sgand.com [info@sgand.com].  You can find a summary of the key points in this episode in The Geopolitics of Business Newsletter.  Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered or relied upon as financial, investment, legal or tax advice. While we seek to ensure the information shared is accurate and up to date at the time of release, no warranties or representations are made regarding its accuracy or completeness and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed. The opinions and views expressed in this podcast are solely the participant’s own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of SG&.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Middle East Conflict, Risk and Resilience: Lord Sedwill

Hosted by Sam Gyimah  In this episode of The Geopolitics of Business, Lord Sedwill — former Cabinet Secretary, National Security Adviser, and now Chair Rothschild & Co Saudi Arabia, examines how conflict in the Gulf is reshaping capital flows, supply chains, defence priorities and long-term business resilience.  Drawing on experience at the highest levels of UK government and global finance, Lord Sedwill explains why geopolitics only becomes truly relevant to business when it hits geoeconomics. He argues that the current Gulf conflict is different from many previous geopolitical shocks because it directly affects confidence, trade routes, energy prices and inflation.  The conversation explores why Gulf states are accelerating diversification away from oil, how sovereign wealth funds are shifting from exporters to importers of capital, and where reconstruction, AI infrastructure and defence innovation may create major investment opportunities. Lord Sedwill also sets out why boards need to move beyond abstract risk registers towards war gaming, contingency planning and genuine supply-chain visibility.  For business leaders, the core message is clear: resilience is no longer the opposite of returns. It is the foundation of long-term value creation.  Host: Sam Gyimah, Founder and CEO of SG& Capital Partners  Producers: Clare Williamson and Duncan Williamson for TGOB Media Ltd in partnership with SG& Capital Partners Ltd  Music composed by: Sophie Sirota  For listener questions or business enquiries please email info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com [info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com], and to contact SG& Capital Partners please email info@sgand.com [info@sgand.com]  You can find a summary of the key points in this episode in The Geopolitics of Business Newsletter  Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered or relied upon as financial, investment, legal or tax advice. While we seek to ensure the information shared is accurate and up to date at the time of release, no warranties or representations are made regarding its accuracy or completeness and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed. The opinions and views expressed in this podcast are solely the participant’s own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of SG&.    ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Rewiring Global Governance, State Capitalism and the Business of Trust: Professor Ngaire Woods

In this episode of The Geopolitics of Business, Professor Ngaire Woods — founder of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and board member of mining giant Rio Tinto — explores how the fracturing of the post-war rules-based order is forcing governments, institutions and businesses to rethink the foundations of global cooperation. Drawing on decades of experience advising governments and studying international institutions, Ngaire examines why the shift from multilateral governance to transactional power politics is creating dangerous instability — and what the rest of the world can do about it.  She discusses the structural strain on international institutions, the limits of deal-by-deal diplomacy, and whether order is possible without American leadership. Ngaire examines the race for critical minerals, the rise of state capitalism, and what it means for companies to earn a popular licence to operate in an era of political volatility. She argues that the countries and businesses best positioned for the future are those that invest in trust, diversity of thinking and genuine partnerships — rather than retreating into groupthink or short-term transactionalism.  Host: Sam Gyimah, Founder and CEO of SG& Capital Partners  Producers: Clare Williamson and Duncan Williamson for TGOB Media Ltd in partnership with SG& Capital Partners Ltd  Music composed by: Sophie Sirota  For listener questions or business enquiries please email info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com [info@thegeopoliticsofbusiness.com], and to contact SG& Capital Partners please email info@sgand.com [info@sgand.com]  You can find a summary of the key points in this episode in The Geopolitics of Business Newsletter  Disclaimer: The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered or relied upon as financial, investment, legal or tax advice. While we seek to ensure the information shared is accurate and up to date at the time of release, no warranties or representations are made regarding its accuracy or completeness and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed. The opinions and views expressed in this podcast are solely the participant’s own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions of SG&.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.