If you're scrambling for tickets to see one of the world's most influential economists speak in Hong Kong this Thursday, you're not alone. Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University—ranked among the top three most influential economists of our time by The Economist—will be holding court at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and everyone from politicians to media folks wants in.
The Economist Who Isn't Afraid to Speak Truth to Power
For anyone keeping tabs on global affairs, you've probably stumbled across Sachs in countless online videos. As Director of Columbia's Center for Sustainable Development, this guy gets it—real progress only happens when countries actually cooperate instead of constantly trying to one-up each other. Otherwise, we're all heading for a cliff.
Don't let his unassuming appearance fool you. Sachs might look mild-mannered, but when he opens his mouth, he delivers razor-sharp analysis backed by decades of serious scholarship. He's not afraid to call out the powerful, even when they probably won't listen (or in Trump's case, might not even understand).
China's Long-Term Game vs America's Short-Term Fixes
Back in April at a diplomatic forum in Turkey, Sachs dropped some truth bombs that are worth paying attention to. After working around the globe for 40 years, he claims that China is becoming the world's most visionary country—and he's got the receipts to back it up.
Here's what caught my attention: Sachs argues that China's success isn't some happy accident or stroke of luck. It's the result of serious, long-term strategic thinking. Take their "Made in China 2025" plan from 2014—Sachs points out this wasn't about protectionism but rather "an investment in technology" and a genuine bid for global leadership. The results speak for themselves: "in eight of the 10 sectors that were identified there China succeeded in reaching the forefront."
And it doesn't stop there. China's 2017 AI strategy led to breakthroughs like DeepSeek—these aren't random innovations popping up overnight. They're the fruits of deliberate, strategic planning. As Sachs put it with genuine admiration: "so this is hard work that actually pays off. This is what every government should do."
Trump's Trade Wars: Political Theater, Not Economic Policy
But Sachs doesn't just praise China—he absolutely eviscerates America's approach under Trump. The protectionist policies? Pure political theater, according to this economic heavyweight. Sure, they might win some quick political points, but the long-term economic damage is devastating.
America's tariffs and trade wars, dressed up as "national security" measures against supposed foreign exploitation, are really just feeding nationalist anger—and that's never a substitute for actual economic policy. They certainly don't solve America's massive debts and budget problems.
Sachs gets straight to the point about America's real issues: "Here's where the US really failed over the last 40 years -- we let the inequalities widen and widen... the United States political system didn't address it at all for 40 years." His diagnosis is brutal but accurate: "Candidates of both political parties are paid by rich donors for their reelection campaigns and both parties then become the agents of tax cuts and not really addressing the social conditions."
The result? "You end up with a Donald Trump coming in and selling a pseudo explanation -- it's all China, and selling a pseudo remedy -- a trade war." And here's perhaps the most damning quote about Trump's attitude toward America's debt crisis: "Donald Trump hasn't said it in public but apparently in private during his first term he was asked about the problem of the US national debt and his answer was 'I don't care because I'll be dead by the time it's a problem.'"
From Economic Doctor to Hong Kong Honors
Sachs isn't just a talking head—he's the real deal. This "economic doctor" has helped countries like Bolivia beat hyperinflation and guided numerous nations through successful economic transitions from planned to market economies. The irony? This lifelong champion of market economics now watches America retreat into protectionism, trashing the very global rules and order it once built.
Hong Kong clearly appreciates his work too. In 2023, the Chinese University of Hong Kong gave him an honorary Doctor of Social Science degree for his efforts in sustainable development and fighting economic inequality.
While Thursday's forum theme hasn't been officially announced yet, I'm personally hoping to hear Sachs dive deep into the relationship between planned and market economies—especially given how China's strategic approach seems to be running circles around America's reactive politics.
This is the kind of perspective we desperately need more of: clear-eyed analysis that cuts through the political noise to focus on what actually works.
Ocean
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MALINDI, Kenya (AP) — The unfinished restaurant is still little more than concrete walls and wooden beams. As her daughter sweeps away the last piles of sand, 54-year-old Nuru Mohammed directs women hanging fishing nets to serve as décor. In a few days, the beachside restaurant on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast will open, offering another way to earn a living.
“For us women, this is hope,” says Mohammed, who for most of her life was one of the few fisherwomen in Malindi, a town northeast of the port city of Mombasa. “It will help support many families that have depended on the ocean for decades.”
Across East Africa’s coast, fisherfolk are increasingly turning to tourism, ecosystem restoration and other conservation-based businesses, reinventing their relationship with the sea as climate change, overfishing and declining ocean health threaten their livelihoods.
In Kenya, women are turning restored mangrove forests into sources of income through beekeeping and ecotourism. In Tanzania’s Zanzibar archipelago, fishing communities are protecting coral reefs through locally managed closures. In Mozambique, sea grass restoration is creating jobs while reviving marine habitats. Together, these efforts are redefining resilience, not as leaving the ocean behind, but as restoring it while building enduring livelihoods.
“Communities that depend on the ocean are also its best stewards,” said Andreane Martel, project director for a conservation program dubbed ReSea. “When local people, especially women, lead conservation, they protect biodiversity while creating more resilient and inclusive livelihoods.”
Mohammed said she has lost boats to theft and now struggles to compete with industrial trawlers. A nearby Chinese-owned fish processing facility reflects the dramatic changes for the industry.
“I can’t compete with that kind of power or scale,” she says.
“It has been tough,” Mohammed says, looking toward the ocean. “I fought to remain a fisherwoman. But I think it’s a fight I can no longer win.”
Ten kilometers (six miles) away, where the Sabaki River meets the Indian Ocean, Beatrice Mwanyiro oversees a mangrove nursery and restaurant built by ReSea, a 30-member women’s self-help group supported by the Canadian government.
“We have to adapt to the changing times,” Mwanyiro says. “The number of fish coming into the shallow waters are falling every year. Without another source of income, we won’t be able to feed our families.”
Mangroves, coral reefs, sea grass meadows and nearshore fisheries provide food, protect coastlines from storms and store vast amounts of carbon. But those ecosystems are imperiled by warming oceans, pollution, habitat loss and overfishing.
Mohamed Somo, a leader of fishermen in Lamu, a UNESCO heritage site, says boats that used to come in with catches of up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of fish now often bring home less than 30 kilograms (66 pounds).
Kenyan law restricts trawlers to waters at least 5 nautical miles (9 kilometers) offshore, but fishers say some vessels routinely operate much closer. The challenge extends beyond Kenya. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs the global economy an estimated $23 billion annually while threatening marine biodiversity and the food security of billions who depend on fish as a primary source of protein, according to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization.
“The trawlers fish offshore during the day, but at night they move into the shallow waters where artisanal fishers work,” Somo says. “By morning, there’s very little left for us.”
The growing pressure on coastal communities has pushed ocean conservation higher on the political agenda as communities struggle for survival and try to protect their ocean economies.
“Coastal communities are on the frontlines of climate change and declining ocean health, but they are also among the strongest drivers of resilience,” said Jerry Mang’ena, co-founder and executive director of Action for Ocean, a Tanzania-based organization that restores mangroves along its coastline.
“Supporting sustainable livelihoods, from aquaculture and eco-tourism to ecosystem restoration, helps families adapt while reducing pressure on the ocean. If we’re serious about protecting our seas, we must invest in the people who have cared for them for generations.”
At the recent Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, conservation groups urged African governments to ratify the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, or “High Seas” treaty, a landmark U.N. pact establishing marine protected areas in international waters and fair sharing of marine resources. It entered into force in January, and as of April had been signed by 145 countries and ratified by 81.
The outcome of negotiations over additional ratifications of the treaty could have a profound impact on the lives of fisher people like Mohammed as they try to build futures that no longer depend entirely on increasingly uncertain catches.
“The BBNJ Agreement gives African governments a historic opportunity to protect the high seas and safeguard the future of our fisheries,” said Aliou Ba, oceans campaign lead at Greenpeace Africa.
“But protecting the ocean also means confronting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that is stripping African waters of marine life and robbing coastal communities of food and income," he said. "Governments cannot afford to delay.”
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
The Samito Women Group's restaurant under construction is seen in Sabaki, Malindi, Kenya, on June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Allan Olingo)
Beatrice Mwanyiro, chair of the Samito Women Group, is interviewed outside the group's unfinished restaurant and mangrove restoration center in Sabaki, Malindi, Kenya, on June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Allan Olingo)
Nuru Mohammed, a fisherwoman speaks inside an unfinished restaurant being built by a women's group of fishmongers in Sabaki, Malindi, Kenya, on June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Allan Olingo)
The Samito Women Group's restaurant under construction is seen in Sabaki, Malindi, Kenya, on June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Allan Olingo)
An unfinished restaurant under construction by a women's group led by Nuru Mohammed is seen in Sabaki, Malindi, Kenya, on June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Allan Olingo)
