Revisiting China’s Digital Strategy

From July 16–29, 2026, China will host the APEC Digital Weeks in Chengdu, bringing together policymakers and technology leaders to discuss the future of the digital economy and artificial intelligence across the Asia-Pacific. With that as the backdrop, today’s Asia Insight features NBR Senior Director of Research and Programs Doug Strub sitting down with NBR Nonresident Fellows Nigel Cory and Emily de La Bruyère to revisit NBR’s China’s Digital Ambitions project and the March 2022 special report, China’s Digital Ambitions: A Global Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order. Together, they look at how China’s digital strategy has evolved, what it means for technology governance in the region, and why these questions remain so important today. Nigel Cory is a Nonresident Fellow at NBR and is a Director with Crowell Global Advisors. Emily de La Bruyère is a Nonresident Fellow at NBR and is co-founder of Horizon Advisory. Doug Strub is Senior Director of Research and Programs at NBR.