In the Media

After President Donald Trump began his second term, he swiftly escalated the trade war by imposing a 25% import tariff on steel and aluminium products, along with ‘reciprocal tariffs.’ Dr. Jing Li, Deputy Program Director of International Business and Global Management at HKU Business School, said although Trump aimed to attract manufacturing back to the United States, history—such as the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act—showed excessive protectionism often backfired, raising import prices, straining supply chains, and increasing uncertainty for businesses and consumers.

Could cryptocurrency mining have become a driving force for carbon reduction in China? As the global cryptocurrency market rapidly expanded, mining evolved into a billion-dollar industry. However, its high energy consumption attracted criticism and was a key reason for the Chinese government’s ban on mining in 2021. Despite this, Prof. Guojun He highlighted that appropriate electricity pricing policies could have enabled mining activities to promote renewable energy development and reduce carbon emissions.