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Special Economic Zones Policies Contribute to Urbanization and Inclusive Growth in Africa

1st July 2025
KCG Secretary
Publications
Publications
Fishing boats on the shore of Cape Coast, Ghana
There has been an increasing number of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Africa since the early 1990s. While there were only around 20 SEZs in the early 1990s in Africa, the number amounted to more than 200 zones all over Africa in 2021. These zones are established to “promote local economic development and reduce regional disparities” (Abagna et al., 2025: 1). In policy debates and academic research, little attention has been paid so far to the impact of SEZ on the households’ welfare development in Africa[...]

Germany’s Path Forward: Building on Leading Edges to Counter China’s Challenges

24th March 2025
KCG Secretary
Public Contributions
Public Contributions
China has made substantial economic progress during the last decades, shifting towards advanced manufacturing and technologies. Chinese firms in key sectors have received massive subsidies which enable them to produce at lower costs and to better compete in the global markets. One key example here is the car industry, particularly the production of electric vehicles (EVs)[...]

Görg on Trump’s blackmail strategy: “Then the trade order would be completely dead

3rd February 2025
KCG Secretary
Public Contributions
Public Contributions
US President Donald Trump is imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China until the crises of illegal migration and drugs are alleviated. A week ago, President Trump also threatened to implement steep tariffs on imports from Colombia after the country barred deportation flights from landing. In the end, Colombia agreed to accept deported migrants, temporarily avoiding a trade war between the two countries[...]

Görg: Tariffs on electric vehicles from China will have significant negative impacts on the electrification transition of the European automotive industry

17th June 2024
KCG Secretary
Public Contributions
Public Contributions
In October 2023, the European Commission initiated an anti-subsidy investigation on imports of battery electric vehicles from China. On June 12, 2024 the Commission provisionally concludes the “electric vehicle value chains in China benefit from unfair subsidies”[...]

Global China Conversation on Oct. 26: Diversification – Can India be an Alternative to China?

23rd October 2023
KCG Secretary
News
News

The next Online Global China Conversation will take place on October 26, 2023 and will address India’s potential to become an alternative to China as an important sales and sourcing market for Germany and the EU.  An ageing population, structurally weaker growth in China and the general de-risking tone are turning all eyes to India: while China’s working-age population is shrinking, India’s will grow. Investors see the country’s relative economic autonomy as an opportunity to better hedge against the effects […]

Holger Görg commented on the initiative “India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor”

17th October 2023
KCG Secretary
Public Contributions
Public Contributions

During the G20 summit in mid-September 2023 in New Delhi, the governments of India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Italy, France, Germany, the European Union and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding, aiming to establish the India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). This is expected to improve and intensify the connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Arabian Gulf, and Europe through railway and shipping networks. Shortly after the announcement […]