December 18, 2020. Shanghai – A mind-boggling year saw CEIBS further its reputation as a reliable and respected source of China-related business commentary and thought leadership on the international stage.

Top global outlets, influential regional media and specialist publications frequently worked together with the school’s faculty on all manner of topics, in an effort to help the world at large chart a path forward through an unprecedented crisis.

World news was dominated by one topic in 2020, and Professor Zhu Tian spoke with Swiss Radio on the possible impact of the coronavirus in February not long after the outbreak occurred, before being quoted by Spanish national newspaper El Pais on how the virus would affect the Chinese labour market.

The role of fintech in China’s approach to coping with the economic effects of the virus was on the agenda for Prof. Zhao Xinge in a Bloomberg interview, whilst Prof. Katherine Xin outlined three biases that shaped CEOs’ COVID-19 pandemic response in a piece carried by Harvard Business Review.

Meanwhile, Prof. Oliver Rui spoke on the effects of the coronavirus on small and medium sized enterprises with German business newspaper Handelsblatt, and Prof. Bala Ramasamy urged the world not to miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide universal basic income (UBI) for all in an op-ed with the South China Morning Post.

As China got to grips with the virus, the start of the school’s journey towards a return to normality was the subject of a TV interview with Channel News Asia for Dean Ding Yuan, and Professor Xu Bin was quoted by El Pais in report on China's better-than-expected virus economic recovery.

The school also took time out from the challenging conditions to celebrate its all-time high #2 position in the Financial Times’ global ranking of Executive MBAs, whilst Prof. Juan Fernandez told Poets and Quants the coronavirus offered the school a teachable moment.

Completing a strong showing in business education coverage, an extensive feature in The Economist featured CEIBS as a Chinese management school thriving thanks to a mixture of western and local traits.

Thankfully, the virus was not the sole topic in 2020. The Financial Times carried a thought leadership piece from Prof. Shameen Prashantham on global firms partnering with start-ups, Prof. Bala Ramasamy was quoted by the Wall Street Journal on US-China trade, and Time Magazine spoke with CEIBS President (European) Dipak Jain on China’s logistics sector.

Possible solutions for the US-China trade dispute were also offered by Prof. Xu Bin to Time Magazine, whilst the implications of ground-breaking research on tax policy from Prof. Frank Yu and Prof. Yi Xiang was the key focus in an article from German Daily Newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung.

Rounding out the year, Prof. Vivian Guo was interviewed live by Bloomberg TV on the importance of subtle nuances when using corporate language.

For more about CEIBS in the news, visit our media centre page here.