Industrial policy - government intervention in the economy - is on the rise around the world. Is this a new era for global trade, and what will be the impact on economies and international relations?

Speakers:

Erik Peterson, Partner and Managing Director, Global Business Policy Council, Kearney

Lizhi Liu, Assistant Professor, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University

Links:

Forum Stories:

Governments are now economic super actors. What does this mean for business?: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/governments-economic-actors-the-challenge-for-business/

Four trends to watch as China's industrial policy evolves: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/02/china-industrial-policy-four-trends-to-watch/

Resources:

New Industrial Policy Observatory (NIPO): https://globaltradealert.org/reports/new-industrial-policy-observatory-nipo

Further reading:

Kearney: From Globalization to Islandization: https://www.kearney.com/service/global-business-policy-council/article/-/insights/from-globalization-to-islandization

OpenAI: Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Ideas to Keep People First: https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/561e7512-253e-424b-9734-ef4098440601/Industrial%20Policy%20for%20the%20Intelligence%20Age.pdf

Chokepoints, American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, by Edward Fishman: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/726149/chokepoints-by-edward-fishman/

IMF: Industrial Policy Since the Great Financial Crisis: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2025/10/31/industrial-policy-since-the-great-financial-crisis-570816

NBER: Decoding China's Industrial Policies: https://www.nber.org/papers/w33814

Exporting Automation, Not Just Goods: Evidence from China's Industrial Robot Exports by Zhengrui Cheng, Shiliang Cui, Lizhi Liu: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6399698

Related podcasts:

Superpower rivalry and geopolitics in Trump 2.0: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/geopolitics-lynn-kuok-the-national/

"New era, new mood, new challenges" - historian Adam Tooze on why things will never be the same again: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/adam-tooze-cnbc-china-us-history/

Tariffs, globalization, and democracy, with Harvard economist Dani Rodrik: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/dani-rodrik-economics-globalization-tariffs/

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