As globalisation falters, countries building productive capacity, not financial excess, will prevail. An opinion piece argues that power is shifting from best pricing assets to building, supplying and sustaining under strain. History shows nations struggle to maintain influence when finance outpaces production.
This opinion piece in the South China Morning Post examines globalisation's decline amid US-China rivalry. The author stresses that changes in trade policy affect not just trade but the basis of power: from who prices assets best to who can build, supply and sustain when systems are strained.
The article traces history, noting power has long rested on production—roads, ports, machine tools, and recently software, data and artificial intelligence systems, provided they yield real output rather than inflated expectations. Issues arise when societies excel at trading titles to future income over expanding current productive capacity.
Keywords include Britain, Hong Kong, New York, trade wars, China, United States, Finance, Artificial intelligence, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spain, Davos, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, AI, Deng Xiaoping and Germany. The piece warns that great powers ignoring manufacturing risk decline in the rivalry.
Published on February 2, 2026, it underscores the strategic importance of production over finance.