Dr Amitendu Palit is Head (Partnerships & Programmes) and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) in the National University of Singapore. He is an economist specializing in comparative economic studies, political economy of international trade, regional developments and public policies. His current research is on China-India comparative economic development, trade and regional architectures in the Asia-Pacific and political economy of economic reforms.

Dr Palit worked in India’s Ministry of Finance for a decade and handled India’s external sector, industrial and infrastructure policies. He also worked in the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He was on Advisory Committees of India’s Planning Commission and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). His books include China India Economics: Challenges, Competition and Collaboration (Routledge, UK; 2011), Special Economic Zones in India: Myths and Realities (Anthem, UK; 2008, co-authored) and South Asia: beyond the Global Financial Crisis (edited; World Scientific, 2011). His forthcoming book is The Trans-Pacific Partnership, China and India (Routledge, UK). He has several publications in leading academic journals. A columnist for India’s Financial Express, he writes for the China Daily, Wall Street Journal, Business Times and other leading global publications.