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Prof. Heiwai Tang is the Victor and William Fung Professor in Economics at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), where he also serves as Director of the Asia Global Institute, Associate Vice President (Global) of the university, and Associate Dean for External Relations at the Business School. Before joining HKU, he was a tenured Associate Professor of International Economics at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University.
He is affiliated with the Center of Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo) in Germany, the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) in Singapore, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, and the Globalization and Economic Policy (GEP) Center in the U.K. as a research fellow. He has consulted for organizations such as the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the United Nations, and the Asian Development Bank. He has also held visiting positions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Harvard University.
He has previously served as the Managing Editor of the Pacific Economic Review, and as an Associate Editor for the Journal of International Economics, the Journal of Comparative Economics, and the China Economic Review. Since 2021, he has been involved with several public and regulatory bodies in Hong Kong SAR, including the Currency Board Sub-Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, the Industry Advisory Committee of the Insurance Authority, the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal, the Land and Development Advisory Committee, and the Minimum Wage Commission, among others.
Heiwai holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT and a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from UCLA. His research interests span a wide range of theoretical and empirical topics in international trade, with a specific focus on production networks, global value chains, and China. His research has been published in leading economics journals, including the American Economic Review and the Journal of International Economics. His research and opinions have been featured in the BBC, Bloomberg, China Daily, CNA, CNN, Financial Times, New York Times, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, South China Morning Post, and various think tanks, including the Brookings Institution and the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Columbia-LBS-HKU EMBA: The New World Order
HKU-PKU DBA: Frontiers in Economics Research
Fudan-HKU IMBA: The New World Order
HKU: Undergraduate Common Core – China in the Global Economy; MBA – Global Economy; Master of Economics – Economic Policy
International Trade, Global Value Chains, Development Economics
In an interview with BBC Chinese, Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of the Asia Global Institute explained that today’s global economic environment is fundamentally different from the 1980s. China’s position in global supply chains, its capital controls, and its economic structure mean it cannot be treated as “another Japan” under a copy and paste Plaza Accord.
Hong Kong’s first five-year plan is now open for public consultation. In recent media interviews, Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School, shared some insights.
In a recent CNN interview, Professor Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of the Asia Global Institute, was asked what is driving this global push by Chinese companies. He noted three main reasons.
In an interview with Ta Kung Pao, Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of the Asia Global Institute, outlined three pathways through which finance can empower the real economy: supporting innovation and technology enterprises, particularly SMEs with new productive capabilities; facilitating the global expansion of intellectual property, as Chinese firms enter a new phase of exporting culture, brands, and IP; and strengthening trade finance and trade insurance to help firms secure financing and navigate complex international environments.
The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2026 shows that Hong Kong ranks second globally, behind only Singapore. Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School, said in the Hong Kong Economic Journal that, compared with Hong Kong, Singapore has long taken a more proactive to industrial development, especially in emerging industries.
The history of global commerce over the past half-century features two indelible spectacles. The first is the global sweep of American titans like General Motors, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Starbucks, Nike, Apple, and Tesla. The second is the aggressive overseas expansion of Japanese giants such as Toyota, Sony, and Fast Retailing.
In recent years, the landscape of two-way investment between China and the rest of the world has undergone significant changes, leading to an expansion in the scope of Hong Kong’s role as a bridge. To analyze this evolution and the development opportunities it brings, one must examine the data trends of China's realized foreign direct investment (FDI) and outward foreign direct investment (ODI).
To support the "going global" trend among Chinese companies, the HKU Business School organised the HKU Indonesia Economic Forum in Jakarta last week. Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School, discussed the new era of globalization with Indonesian media VOI.
As global attention turns to the Trump–Xi meeting on 13 May — the first visit to China by a US president in nearly a decade — Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean at HKU Business School, shared his insights in an interview with BBC News, offering a nuanced perspective on US–China economic dynamics.
At the 2022 Foundation report launch event for “Hong Kong’s Next Growth Pathway” and an article in Sing Tao Daily, Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School, said that if tensions involving Iran persisted through August without resolution, Hong Kong's exports and overall economy could face significant pressure by year-end.
