Strategic Memo

Economic power, technological resilience and political legitimacy are becoming increasingly difficult to separate. China is using currency stability to support its industrial model, cyber attackers are exploiting identity and artificial intelligence at machine speed, and India’s young population is testing whether economic growth can continue to sustain political authority.

In this week’s Strategic Memo, we examine how states and corporations are responding as control over capital, digital systems and public confidence becomes more contested.

• China, the Renminbi, and the Politics of Currency Stability

• AI, Identity, and Speed: What CrowdStrike’s 2026 Threat Report Means for Corporations

• India’s Democratic Crossroads: A New Generation Challenges the Modi Era

China’s exchange-rate policy has long occupied a central place in debates over global trade, but the medium-term question is how China will preserve the competitiveness of its export-driven economy while simultaneously maintaining domestic financial stability, avoiding capital flight, and projecting geopolitical strength. The evidence suggests that Beijing will pursue a strategy of managed stability by allowing the renminbi to appreciate gradually when conditions permit, intervening to prevent excessive volatility, and preserving the structural features of its economic model that continue to keep the currency undervalued in real terms. This approach reflects the interaction of industrial policy, domestic politics, and strategic competition with the United States.