Geopolitics Unscripted: Innovation, Influence, and China — What Changes in Asia Mean for the World
The Stockholm School of Economics in Riga invites you to a public lecture, “Innovation, Influence, and China — What Changes in Asia Mean for the World,” by Dr Vincent Yip. Dr Yip is a Singapore-born China specialist with a background in science policy, diplomacy, and higher education. This lecture is part of the Geopolitics Unscripted series and explores how China’s innovation priorities and Singapore’s role in Asian tech networks are reshaping competitiveness, security, and geopolitical influence.
We will look at what is changing in China’s innovation sector, how Singapore positions itself in regional tech and research networks, and what these shifts mean for competitiveness, supply chains, regulation, and talent.
The discussion will connect innovation to wider questions that matter for the ‘world order’: economic dependencies, security concerns, standards setting, and the way technology shapes diplomacy and influence.
Expect a practical, open exchange rather than prepared speeches, with time for audience questions.
Dr Vincent Yip is a Singapore born China specialist with a background in science policy, diplomacy, and higher education.
He holds an MA in Physics and a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Southern California. He served as Executive Director of the Singapore Science Park (1979–1989) and later as Minister Counsellor at the Singapore Embassy accredited to the European Community, Benelux, and the Vatican (1989–1991). In 1988, he received the French state honour Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques.
Dr Yip is currently an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and Nanyang Technological University. He has written three books on China, including Ethnic Groups of China (Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1992). A Silk Road expert, he has served as Special Advisor to the Dunhuang Academy since 1999. He has consulted for the World Bank, UNDP, the Asian Development Bank, and multinational corporations, and is a frequent public speaker on China and Asia.