Chips, Clouds, and Control: Big Tech and the New Global Order

Welcome to TapTalks Singapore – Happy Hour For Curious Minds
Where scholars and experts share their insights and stories at Singapore’s favorite bars and lounges.

💡Topic: Chips, Clouds, and Control: Big Tech and the New Global Order
📆Date: Tuesday, 28/4/2026
⏰Time: 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM
📍Location: CanCan Bistro, Singapore
🎙️Speaker: Dr. Zhang Hongzhou, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
🗣️Language: English

For decades, international politics was understood as a game played mostly by nation-states. Today, that picture is no longer enough. From Nvidia’s control over AI chips to Apple’s global ecosystem, from Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure to Huawei’s technological footprint, Big Tech companies are no longer just businesses—they are increasingly actors in geopolitics, security, governance, and global influence.

In this timely TapTalk, Dr. Zhang Hongzhou will explore how major technology firms in the United States and China are reshaping the global political order. Moving beyond traditional state-centric analysis, he will examine how these firms function as economic and strategic power centers in their own right—shaping policy agendas, influencing national security decisions, and altering how countries compete, cooperate, and govern.

This conversation is especially relevant in Singapore and across Asia, where questions of digital sovereignty, AI governance, semiconductor supply chains, platform power, and U.S.–China competition are becoming impossible to ignore. As governments race to regulate emerging technologies while also depending on them, Big Tech is no longer on the sidelines of international politics—it is increasingly at the center of it.

Dr. Zhang Hongzhou is a leading scholar of international political economy, global governance, and the role of Big Tech in world affairs. His research spans the governance of emerging technologies including AI and biotechnology, as well as broader questions of resource politics, security, and international order. He is the author/editor of three books and has published widely in major peer-reviewed journals. Beyond academia, his commentary has appeared in prominent outlets across the Asia-Pacific, and his insights have been featured by major global media including The New York Times, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Reuters, Bloomberg, and The Washington Post.

Whether you work in tech, policy, finance, media, education, or simply want to better understand the forces shaping the 21st century, this talk will offer a sharp and accessible lens on one of the defining transformations of our time.

Come grab a drink 🥂, meet fellow curious minds 🤯, and rethink who really holds power in today’s world.
Only at TapTalks Singapore. 🍷

About TapTalks
TapTalks is a social learning community that brings thought-provoking ideas to life in bars and lounges. Born in Hong Kong, we create spaces where scholars, industry leaders, and curious professionals gather after work to explore big questions — over great drinks and even better conversations.

This Singapore session marks TapTalks international expansion outside Hong Kong, and we couldn’t imagine a better city to begin our global journey.

Agenda

7:30 PM – Doors open: seat yourself and order food/drinks

7:55 PM – Host introduction

8:00 PM – Talk begins

8:40 PM – Q&A

9:00 PM – Stay and mingle with the speaker and fellow curious minds

Only at TapTalks. 🍷

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**This ticket does NOT include any food & beverage. We kindly ask you to support SG local businesses by ordering at least one item per guest from their menu.

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