The International Monetary Fund (IMF) describes economic globalisation as a historical process, the result of human innovation and technological progress. The IMF says “it refers to the increasing integration of economies around the world, particularly through the movement of goods, services, and capital across borders”.

But with changes in the global political landscape some of those economies are now reviewing how those goods, services, and capital cross borders, and the role of globalisation itself as part of their foreign relations. As a result, the strategies of multi-nationals, international trade, and cross-border investments are also under review.

Professor Tao Zhigang is a Professor of Strategy and Economics at the Faculty of Business and Economics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Professor Tao is also the Director of the Institute for China and Global Development at the University, and the Co-Director of the Asia Competitiveness Program of the Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy. He serves as a panel member of the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong and is a Convenor of HKU’s strategic research theme of China business and economics.

Professor Tao has been researching global economies and business strategies for the past 25 years. His work on the growth and development of China’s economy has highlighted some of the unique features of the Mainland's economic growth, specifically Chinese-style state capitalism. He has also found that the quality of economic institutions is important for both economic growth and business strategies in China, addressing the apparent puzzle that Beijing achieved stellar economic performance despite weak institutions.

The focus of his current research is on the economics of globalisation and the strategies adopted by multi-nationals in a shifting business environment. Aside from understanding the internal growth dynamics of the Chinese economy, Professor Tao has done extensive work on the linkage between China and the global economy through international trade and investment, and institutional changes associated with both investment and trade. His work on bi-sourcing arrangements has attracted attention from the academic world and the business community, while his research on the productivity of foreign affiliates operating in China has found that exporters are not necessarily more productive than non-exporters.

Prior to joining HKU in 1998, Professor Tao taught at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 1992 to 1998. He received his BSc in Management Science from Fudan University in 1986, and his PhD in Economics from Princeton University in 1992. He is a Senior Fellow at Tsinghua University's National Centre of Economic Research, a Senior Fellow at Tsinghua University's Center for China in the World Economy, and a Visiting Professor at the Fudan University School of Management.

Professor Tao has a prolific publication record with papers published in various prestigious economics and management journals such as the American Economic Review, the International Economic Review, the Journal of Comparative Economics, the Journal of Development Economics, the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, the Journal of International Economics, and the Rand Journal of Economics.

His two books about the competitiveness of China’s manufacturing industries and the Yangtze River Delta have generated both policy recommendations and business strategies. His research and findings have been
covered by Central China TV, China Radio International, CNN, Reuters, the South China Morning Post, the Straits Times, the Voice of America, the Wall Street Journal, and the Xinhua News Agency.