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4652. Technology Transfer in the Economic Relations Between the People's Republic of China and the European Union
- Author:
- Artur Gradziuk
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Economic relations between the European Union and the People's Republic of China, manifesting themselves, inter alia, in the transfer of technologies, are beneficial for both parties. From the point of view of China, import of technologically advanced goods from Europe and a subsequent opening to investment by European enterprises, involving technology transfers, have been one of the major factors in the development and modernisation of the economy. For the European Union access to the huge Chinese market has offered new, attractive opportunities in terms of business interests and exploitation of its competitive advantages in the high technologies sector.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- China and Europe
4653. Criss-Crossing Globalization: Uphill Flows of Skill-Intensive Goods and Foreign Direct Investment
- Author:
- Arvind Subramanian and Aaditya Mattoo
- Publication Date:
- 08-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
- Abstract:
- Th is paper documents an unusual and possibly significant phenomenon: the export of skills embodied in goods, services, or capital from poorer to richer countries. We fi rst present a set of stylized facts. Using a measure that combines the sophistication of a country's exports with the average income level of destination countries, we show that the performance of a number of developing countries, notably China, Mexico, and South Africa, matches that of much more advanced countries, such as Japan, Spain, and the United States. Creating a new combined dataset on foreign direct investment (FDI) (covering greenfi eld investments as well as mergers and acquisitions) we show that fl ows of FDI to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries from developing countries like Brazil, India, Malaysia, and South Africa as a share of their GDP are as large as fl ows from countries like Japan, Korea, and the United States. Th en, taking the work of Hausmann et al. (2007) as a point of departure, we suggest that it is not just the composition of exports but their destination that matters. In both cross-sectional and panel regressions, with a range of controls, we fi nd that a measure of uphill fl ows of sophisticated goods is signifi cantly associated with better growth performance. Th ese results suggest the need for a deeper analysis of whether development benefi ts might derive not from deifying comparative advantage but from defying it.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- China, South Africa, and Mexico
4654. Sanctioning North Korea: The Political Economy of Denuclearization and Proliferation
- Author:
- Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
- Abstract:
- As a small country dependent on foreign trade and investment, North Korea should be highly vulnerable to external economic pressure. In June 2009, following North Korea's second nuclear test, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1874, broadening existing economic sanctions and tightening their enforcement. However, an unintended consequence of the nuclear crisis has been to push North Korea into closer economic relations with China and other trading partners that show little interest in cooperating with international efforts to pressure North Korea, let alone in supporting sanctions. North Korea appears to have rearranged its external economic relations to reduce any impact that traditional sanctions could have.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- China, North Korea, and United Nations
4655. Shades of Red: China's Debate over North Korea
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Pyongyang's latest round of provocations has prompted Beijing to reconsider its North Korea policy. A rocket launch, the withdrawal from the Six-Party Talks, and the 25 May nuclear test all deepened doubts in China about its policies towards its neighbour. This series of escalating gestures coincided with reports that Kim Jong-il was seriously ill, which set in train succession plans. Together, the nuclear tensions and succession worries drew out an unusually public, and critical, discussion in China about its ties with North Korea. The debate took place between those proposing a stronger line against North Korea (“strategists”) and others advocating the continuation of substantial political and economic cover for China's traditional ally (“traditionalists”). Beijing ultimately supported a strongly worded UN Security Council presidential statement and a resolution mandating a substantial sanctions regime, albeit one focused on missile and defence programs that would not destabilise the economy. Although many in the West have pointed to this debate as a sign of a policy shift, Beijing's strategic calculations remain unchanged. As one high-level Chinese diplomat said, “Our mindset has changed, but the length of our border has not”. North Korea's attempted satellite launch and nuclear test generated significant domestic and international pressure on Beijing, while its withdrawal from the Six-Party Talks stripped China of its primary strategy for dealing with the nuclear crisis. Chinese policymakers began to question whether North Korea's nuclear ambitions and desire for recognition as a nuclear power by the international community were in fact negotiable. Beijing was angered by the latest escalation and was ready to reprimand the North, but in a controlled way that would protect Chinese interests.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Communism, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, and North Korea
4656. The Unbalanced Triangle
- Author:
- Stephen Kotkin
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- The Chinese-Russian relationship is more opportunistic than strategic, Bobo Lo argues. The United States is stuck watching from the sidelines and may be pushing Moscow further into Beijing's pocket.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, Beijing, and Moscow
4657. Bad Debts: Assessing China's Financial Influence in Great Power Politics
- Author:
- Daniel W. Drezner
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Security
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- China has challenged the United States on multiple policy fronts since the beginning of 2009. On the security dimension, Chinese ships have engaged in multiple skirmishes with U.S. surveillance vessels in an effort to hinder American efforts to collect naval intelligence. China has also pressed the United States on the economic policy front. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao told reporters that he was concerned about China's investments in the United States: “We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.” The head of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan, followed up with a white paper suggesting a shift away from the dollar as the world's reserve currency. China's government has issued repeated calls for a greater voice in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. To bolster this call, Beijing helped to organize a summit of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) to better articulate this message.
- Topic:
- Security, Debt, Government, and Intelligence
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, India, and Brazil
4658. China's Politics under Hu Jintao
- Author:
- François Godement and Mathieu Duchâtel
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This special issue focuses on Hu Jintao's first mandate in power, between the Sixteenth and the Seventeenth Party Congress (2002-2007). It considers two intertwined issues: power viewed through the lens of party politics, and actual policy changes that may have emanated from a mandate initially loaded with expectations. Besides the domestic dimensions of elite politics and ideological change, two central aspects of Chinese politics, the key question tackled in this issue is the ability of a new general secretary to transform past policies, especially in the realms of foreign affairs and national security since they are by tradition – and constitutionally – the responsibility of China's paramount leader.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- China
4659. The Chinese Communist Party: Recruiting and Controlling the New Elites
- Author:
- Cheng Li
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This article explores two interrelated aspects of the new dynamics within the CCP leadership – the new elite groups and the new ground rules in Chinese politics. The first shows profound changes in the recruitment of the elite and the second aims to reveal the changing mechanisms of political control and the checks and balances of the Chinese political system. The article argues that the future of the CCP largely depends on two seemingly contradictory needs: how broad-based will the Party's recruitment of its new elites be on the one hand and how effective will the top leadership be in controlling this increasingly diverse political institution on the other. The emerging fifth generation of leaders is likely to find the challenge of producing elite harmony and unity within the Party more difficult than their predecessors. Yet, the diverse demographic and political backgrounds of China's new leaders can also be considered a positive development that may contribute to the Chinese-style inner-Party democracy.
- Topic:
- Development
- Political Geography:
- China
4660. Remaking the CCP's Ideology: Determinants, Progress, and Limits under Hu Jintao
- Author:
- Heike Holbig
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Two decades after the predicted “end of ideology”, we are observing a re-emphasis on party ideology under Hu Jintao. The paper looks into the reasons for and the factors shaping the re-formulation of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ideology since 2002 and assesses the progress and limits of this process. Based on the analysis of recent elite debates, it is argued that the re making of ideology has been the consequence of perceived challenges to the legitimacy of CCP rule. Contrary to many Western commentators, who see China's successful economic performance as the most important if not the only source of regime legitimacy, Chinese party theorists and scholars have come to regard Deng Xiaoping's formula of performance-based legitimacy as increasingly precarious. In order to tackle the perceived “performance dilemma” of party rule, the adaptation and innovation of party ideology is regarded as a crucial measure to relegitimize CCP rule.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China
4661. Managing Stability in the Taiwan Strait: Non-Military Policy towards Taiwan under Hu Jintao
- Author:
- Wu-ueh Chang and Chien-min Chao
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- China's Taiwan policy has been one of coupling intimidation (the “stick” approach) with coercion (the “carrot ” approach), a policy mix which, in the near term, is not likely to change, as is evidenced by the passage of the “Anti-Secession Law” in March, 2005. However, un- der Hu Jintao, the focus has been on pragmatism. The warm atmosphere that presently reigns in the Taiwan Strait area is unprecedented. Further talks are expected before the two cross-Strait leaders are slated to step down, simultaneously, in 2012. An era of reconciliation and negotiations has dawned. For the first time there is consensus regarding norms of interaction between the two sides. Cross-Strait relations have stabilized after years of tumult. More open, stable and predictable cross-Strait relations are in the interests of both sides. Difficulties surely lie ahead, but they will be dealt with in a different manner than what has been witnessed in the past.
- Political Geography:
- China and Taiwan
4662. China's Climate- and Energy-security Dilemma: Shaping a New Path of Economic Growth
- Author:
- Karl Hallding, Guoyi Han, and Marie Olsson
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- China is undergoing modernization at a scale and speed the world has never witnessed. As climate change increasingly dominates the global agenda, China faces the challenge of shaping a new growth path in a climate-constrained world. The paper argues that China's current climate and energy policy is, at best, a “repackaging” of existing energy and environmental strategies with co-benefits for the mitigation of climate change. Nevertheless, even though policies are not climate-change driven, the quick (rhetorical) endorsement of low-carbon development and the strong momentum of green technologies indicate that political ambitions are in favour of finding a more sustainable development pathway. A new growth path would, how-ever, require a fundamental shift, with development and energy strategies being set within climate security constraints. The eventual success of this new path remains uncertain.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Economics, and Environment
- Political Geography:
- China
4663. Climate Change in China – The Development of China's Climate Policy and Its Integration into a New International Post-Kyoto Climate Regime
- Author:
- Andreas Oberheitmann and Eva Sternfeld
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- According to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, global emissions of carbon dioxide have to be reduced by about 80 per cent by 2050 in order to stabilise the increase in global temperature at 2 to 2.4°C by 2100 compared with its pre-industrial level. An increase of only 2°C would bring about “acceptable” negative impacts on the eco-systems and the world economy. Without a reduction in CO2 emissions in China, however, it will be hard to achieve this goal. Currently, China is already responsible for about 50 per cent of the worldwide increase in CO2 emissions recorded over the past ten years. On the other hand, it is the industrialised countries that are mainly responsible for the greenhouse-gas emissions of earlier years. Taking the challenges of China's economic growth, its impact on future CO2 emissions and the development of China's climate policy into account, this article develops a new post-Kyoto regime based on cumulative per-capita emission rights.
- Topic:
- Economics and Environment
- Political Geography:
- China
4664. China's Economic Policy in the Time of the Global Financial Crisis: Which Way Out?
- Author:
- Margot Schüller and Yun Schüllerr-Zhou
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This contribution analyses the impact of the global financial crisis on the Chinese economy and the policies implemented by the Chinese government to cope with it. We argue, first, that China has not been able to decouple its economic performance from that of the U.S. and other developed countries. Second, although economic growth in the second quarter of 2009 showed that the stimulus package is working, the current development does not seem to be sustainable. In order to avoid another round of overheating, the government needs to adjust its stimulus policy. Third, the current crisis offers opportunities to conduct necessary structural adjustments in favour of more market-based and innovative industries, more investment by private companies and a stronger role of private consumption in economic growth. Fourth, with the external demand from the OECD countries declining, Chinese export companies need to further diversify their international markets and re-orient their production and sales strategies to some extent towards the domestic market.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
4665. Sharing the Pain: The Global Struggle Over Savings
- Author:
- Michael Pettis
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- In September, the Obama administration imposed tariffs on Chinese tires. In October, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would launch an investigation into imports of seamless steel pipes from China. That same month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.–China Business Council, two groups that in the past have defended Chinese policies, testified to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that Chinese contracting rules, technical standards, and licensing requirements were protectionist.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, Foreign Direct Investment, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- China, Middle East, and Asia
4666. Climate Commitments to 2050: A Roadmap for China
- Author:
- ZhongXiang Zhang
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- Representatives of countries around the world are scheduled to meet in Copenhagen in December 2009, to try to hammer out a new regime for attacking climate change problems. No one would deny that the United States is committed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions—an essential part of a global pact—or that President Obama wants to demonstrate U.S. leadership in the debate.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Asia
4667. Crossing Borders, Changing Landscapes: Land-Use Dynamics in the Golden Triangle
- Author:
- Jefferson Fox
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Over the last half-century, public policy has affected land-use practices across the borders linking China, Thailand, and Laos. Political and economic reforms have facilitated labor mobility and a shift in agricultural practices away from staple grains and toward a diverse array of cash crops, rubber being one of the foremost. China has promoted the conversion of forests to rubber agroforestry in southern Yunnan—profitable for farmers, but a concern in terms of biodiversity and long-term viability. In Thailand, the response is at the other end of the spectrum as the government's concerns about land-use practices and watershed management have led to policies that dramatically constrain land-use practices and limit tenure rights. In Laos the future is not yet clear. Government policies provide weak support for both private land ownership and protected areas. In a global environment where national policy has such a dramatic effect on land use and land cover, the factors behind land-use change merit close examination.
- Topic:
- Agriculture and Economics
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Laos
4668. It\'s One Climate Policy World Out There—Almost
- Author:
- Nancy Birdsall and Jan von der Goltz
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- In the run-up to the December 2009 Copenhagen climate conference, the authors surveyed members of the international development community with a special interest in climate change on three sets of detailed questions: (1) what action different country groups should take to limit climate change; (2) how much non-market funding there should be for emissions reductions and adaptation in developing countries, and how it should be allocated; and (3) which institutions should be involved in delivering climate assistance, and how the system should be governed. About 500 respondents from 88 countries completed the survey between November 19–24, 2009. About a third of the respondents grew up in developing countries, although some of them now live in developed countries. A broad majority of respondents from both developing and developed countries held very similar views on the responsibilities of the two different country groups, including on issues that have been very controversial in the negotiations. Most favored binding commitments now by developed countries, and commitments by 2020 by \'advanced developing countries\' (Brazil, China, India, South Africa and others), limited use of offsets by developed countries, strict monitoring of compliance with commitments, and the use of trade measures (e.g. carbon-related tariffs) only in very narrow circumstances. Respondents from developing countries favored larger international transfers than those from developed countries, but the two groups share core ideas on how transfers should be allocated. Among institutional options for managing climate programs, a plurality of respondents from developed (48 percent) and developing (56 percent) countries preferred a UN-managed world climate fund, while many from both groups also embraced the UN Adaptation Fund\'s approach, which is to accredit national institutions within countries which are eligible to manage implementation of projects that the Fund finances. Among approaches to governance, the most support went to the Climate Investment Fund model—of equal representation of developing and developed countries on the board.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and United Nations
4669. Reconciling Climate Change and Trade Policy
- Author:
- Arvind Subramanian, Aaditya Mattoo, Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, and Jianwu He
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- There is growing clamor in industrial countries for additional border taxes on imports from countries with lower carbon prices. A key factor affecting the impact of these taxes is whether they are based on the carbon content of imports or the carbon content in domestic production. Our quantitative estimates suggest that the former action when applied to all merchandise imports would address competitiveness and environmental concerns in high income countries but with serious consequences for trading partners. For example, China's manufacturing exports would decline by one-fifth and those of all low- and middle-income countries by 8 percent; the corresponding declines in real income would be 3.7 percent and 2.4 percent. In contrast, border tax adjustment based on the carbon content in domestic production, especially if applied to both imports and exports, would broadly address the competitiveness concerns of producers in high income countries without seriously damaging developing-country trade. Therefore, as part of a comprehensive agreement on climate change, new WTO rules could be negotiated that would prohibit the extreme form of action while possibly allowing trade actions based on domestic carbon content as a safety valve.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- China
4670. Can Global De-Carbonization Inhibit Developing-Country Industrialization?
- Author:
- Arvind Subramanian, Aaditya Mattoo, Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, and Jianwu He
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Abstract:
- Most economic analyses of climate change have focused on the aggregate impact on countries of mitigation actions. We depart first in disaggregating the impact by sector, focusing particularly on manufacturing output and exports because of the potential growth consequences. Second, we decompose the impact of an agreement on emissions reductions into three components: the change in the price of carbon due to each country's emission cuts per se; the further change in this price due to emissions tradability; and the changes due to any international transfers (private and public). Manufacturing output and exports in low carbon intensity countries such as Brazil are not adversely affected. In contrast, in high carbon intensity countries, such as China and India, even a modest agreement depresses manufacturing output by 6-7 percent and manufacturing exports by 9-11 percent. The increase in the carbon price induced by emissions tradability hurts manufacturing output most while the Dutch disease effects of transfers hurt exports most. If the growth costs of these structural changes are judged to be substantial, the current policy consensus, which favors emissions tradability (on efficiency grounds) supplemented with financial transfers (on equity grounds), needs re-consideration.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- China, India, and Brazil
4671. Beyond Zero Enrichment: Suggestions for an Iranian Nuclear Deal
- Author:
- Matthew Bunn
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- The United States and the other members of the P5+1 are struggling to launch the first in-depth negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program in which the United States has participated. The United States comes to the table with few good options. Sanctions have failed to change Iran's decisions about its nuclear program, and no feasible set of sanctions (given the limits of what China, Russia, and others will agree to) is likely to convince Iran to give up its enrichment program. Military strikes against Iran would probably not set back Iran's program for longer than a brief period and would greatly increase Iran's incentive to go straight to the bomb at covert sites (as Iraq did after Israel destroyed its facilities at Osiraq).
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, and Middle East
4672. Towards a new climate regime? Views of China, India, Japan, Russia and the United States in the road to Copenhagen
- Author:
- Linda Jakobson, Anna Korppoo, Johannes Urpelainen, Antto Vihma, and Alex Luta
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- The fifteenth Conference of Parties to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009 has been set as the political deadline for establishing a comprehensive regime to address the dramatic threat of climate change and follow up the Kyoto Protocol. The EU has a convening role in the position formation for the negotiations as the newly elected presidential administration of the US will need all the time available to establish its position for Copenhagen.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Japan, China, and India
4673. The Great Regression? Financial Crisis in an Age of Global Interdependence
- Author:
- Vadim Kononenko, Raimo Väyrynen, Toby Archer, Kristian Kurki (ed.), and Matti Nojonen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- The financial crisis and the ensuing global economic downturn have been the focal point of news coverage and policy analysis for over a year now, and speculation has been rife about how things will pan out. At one extreme are those who shrug the situation off as a significant yet transient dent in economic development, with marginal repercussions on the global system. At the other end are those touting the crisis as the first step in an epoch-making transition in the global power balance, where rapidly expanding economies like China, Brazil and India will make gains on the hitherto dominant developed nations, shifting the distribution of power in the world. Whatever the eventual outcome, there is no denying that the crisis's impact on international relations will be significant.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, Power Politics, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- China, India, and Brazil
4674. "Can't Buy Me Love": Will the global economic downturn help Russia consolidate its influence in post-Soviet Eurasia?
- Author:
- Igor Torbakov and Vadim Kononenko
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- As the Kremlin believes that the global economic downturn is increasing the trend towards greater regionalism, the strategic conclusion is to strengthen Russia's position as the centre of its "own region" - post-Soviet Eurasia. In order to enhance its geopolitical posture in the ex-Soviet area, Russia has been pursuing a two- track policy: it is buying up assets from, and giving out loans to, its distressed neighbours on a massive scale. Several forces appear to be working at cross-purposes with the Kremlin's ambitions: 1) the state of Russia's own economic system; 2) the wiliness and cunning maneuvering of Moscow's "allies"; and 3) the growing competition on the part of the other centres of power - the European Union and China. Ultimately, the Kremlin's desperate efforts to turn Russia into a geopolitical leader of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are likely to be frustrated by Russia's lack of a coherent long-term strategy and by its socio-political system's dearth of appeal.
- Topic:
- Globalization and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union
4675. The Dead Souls: How to deal with the Russian surplus?
- Author:
- Anna Korppoo
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- The 10-15% reduction target by 2020 announced by Russia reflects neither the country's efficiency potential, nor modeled emissions trends. With emission reduction measures, Russia could commit to a target of ca. -30% by 2020. Transferring the surplus emission allowances Russia gained under the Kyoto Protocol due to the economic restructuring of the 1990s represents an extreme threat to both the environmental and market integrity of the Copenhagen agreement as it could be used to offset real domestic emission reduction measures in other countries. But it seems politically unlikely that Russia would join without transferring the surplus under the Copenhagen agreement. Countries should recognize the threat posed by the surplus, and offer a cooperative strategy to deal with it. However, pushing through a 'cancel or discount' approach to the surplus problem by three-quarter majority, which could be brought together without the co-operation of the surplus-holding countries, should be kept as a reserve strategy. More ambitious targets - beyond the 25-40% suggested by the IPCC - for the Annex I industrialized country group, especially for the surplus holding countries including Russia, could absorb the transferred surplus. However, given the current low pledges of Annex 1 countries, higher targets are unlikely to absorb the whole surplus, and therefore, a basket of approaches should be applied. To gain credibility on this issue of vis-à-vis Russia and to avoid Russia setting the tone, before Copenhagen the EU must adopt an internal solution to deal with the surplus of its new member states. If expecting to transfer the surpluses, the other surplus holding countries including Russia could announce national surplus use plans prior to the Copenhagen climate talks. In order to minimize a scenario of Russia blocking the Copenhagen process in the final hours, key countries should publically engage Russia on climate and the Copenhagen talks. Important Annex I countries, especially the US, should send very high-level representatives to Moscow like they have sent to China and India.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, Europe, India, and Asia
4676. Global security in a multipolar world
- Author:
- Radha Kumar, Álvaro de Vasconcelos, Andrei Zagorski, Paulo Wrobel, Feng Zhongping, Robert Hutchings, Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, and Luis Peral
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- This is the second Chaillot Paper in a series exploring the various strands of a global topic: multilateralising multipolarity. Through the essays collected in the first study, we set out to assess the scope of change in the international system and how EU action could best be suited to bringing about a multilateral order. After the fall of the Berlin Wall brought about the end of bipolarity, the world has changed no less dramatically since the 1990s witnessed the Balkan wars and the first EU military crisis-management operations. Basically, the post-Cold War 'unipolar' world turned 'multipolar', and as a result the West can no longer tackle global issues – made more pressing indeed due to this very transformation – on its own any more than it can deal single- handedly with regional crises. The comparative analysis of the strategic vision of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the so-called BRICs, showed that the best policy mindset for the European Union, contrary to some suggestions, was not to try to become a normal hard-power player. It further concluded that, in a multi- polar world, this was simply not a viable option. For the European Union to survive and to influence the outcome of the international order, it must succeed in giving a multilateral dimension to the current multipolarity; in other words, Europe must be able to define together with other world and regional powers the norms and rules that are needed to drive concerted efforts to stay clear of some future clash of competing unilateralisms.
- Topic:
- Security, Globalization, Intelligence, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, India, and Brazil
4677. Genocide Olympics; The Campaign to pressure China over the Darfur Conflict
- Author:
- Alexandra Cosima Budabin
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- What is the impact of a domestic-based social movement's efforts to promote international conflict resolution? To end the conflict in Darfur, the US-based Save Darfur Coalition (SDC) has pursued a strategy of international venue-shopping to seek additional sources of leverage on the government of Sudan. The SDC identified China as Sudan's staunch ally in the international arena. During the period leading up to the Beijing Olympics in August 2008, the SDC and its member organizations explored traditional and innovative channels for pressuring the Chinese government. This article will examine the emergence of China as a target, the development of the China Campaign, and the impact on Chinese foreign policy. The reconstruction of the strategies of the SDC is based on a systematic content analysis of the web sites, organization archival material, and newspaper accounts of activities. The main data source consists of in-depth interviews conducted with SDC leadership, Darfuri activists, Congressional legislative aides, and officials from the Chinese Embassy and the Department of State.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Sudan
4678. International Journal of KOREAN STUDIES Volume XIII, Number 2 Fall/Winter 2009
- Author:
- Hugo Wheegook Kim
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The Korean peninsula continues to be a geostrategic and economic nexus for Northeast Asia. As such, relations involve economic, social, historical, and larger regional issues, as well as the nuclear issue. While the specifics are yet to emerge, this article surveys the Obama administration's strategic approach to the region and the peninsula, concluding that it is working with a broad tradition of U.S. approaches to the region: engage China, uphold traditional alliances, and contain the North Korean threat. The economic crisis has affected the specifics of this grand strategy, but not the overall U.S. approach to East Asia.
- Topic:
- International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, East Asia, North Korea, and Northeast Asia
4679. Reconciling Climate Change and Trade Policy
- Author:
- Arvind Subramanian, Aaditya Mattoo, Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, and Jianwu He
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
- Abstract:
- There is growing clamor in industrial countries for additional border taxes on imports from countries with lower carbon prices. While this paper confirms the findings of other research that unilateral emissions cuts by industrial countries will have minimal carbon leakage effects, output and exports of energy-intensive manufactures are projected to decline, potentially creating pressure for trade action. A key factor affecting the impact of any border taxes is whether they are based on the carbon content of imports or the carbon content of domestic production. The paper's quantitative estimates suggest that the former action when applied to all merchandise imports would address competitiveness and environmental concerns in high income countries but with serious consequences for trading partners. Border tax adjustment based on the carbon content in domestic production would broadly address the competitiveness concerns of producers in high income countries and less seriously damage developing country trade.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Economics, Energy Policy, Environment, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- China
4680. The Future of U.S. Military Power
- Author:
- Thomas Donnelly, Philip Dur, and Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr.
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- No abstract is available.
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
4681. Avoiding Mutual Misunderstanding: Sino-U.S. Relations and the New Administration
- Author:
- Tianjian Shi and Meredith Wen
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- After the election of Barack Obama as president, Carnegie's Beijing Office assembled a group of leading scholars of international relations to discuss their expectations of the new administration. This policy brief conveys their opinions on various aspects of Sino-American relations and on America foreign policy in general.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Beijing
4682. ROK Military Transformation and ROK-US Security and Maritime Cooperation: MD, PSI and Dokdo Island
- Author:
- Taewoo Kim
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- In the last decade the ROK-U.S. alliance has soured as the two ideologically slanted predecessor administrations of Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun brandished 'idealist policy experiments' over issues critical to the alliance. Under the banner of 'autonomy,' the Roh administration initiated the 2007 decision to separate operational control (OPCON) and dismantle the Combined Forces Command (CFC) by 2012. The Defense Reform 2020 was a decisive masterpiece to placate the conservative realists critical to the Roh's leftist experiments. The task of redressing the vestige of distortions belongs to the newly elected Lee Myung Bak, who already began restoration of the bilateral relations since the two summits in 2008, which promised to forge a 'strategic alliance.' If the 2007 agreement over OPCON and CFC is irreversible, the Lee administration has no other choice but to formulate a new security cooperation while utilizing the Defense Reform as the highway leading to military transformation and upgraded ROK-U.S. cooperation in that regard. The rationale is that the U.S. will remain a critical partner even after the transfer of OPCON in all defense areas such as collaboration upon a Korean contingency, purchase of new weapon systems, and interoperability. There are other critical issues that need mutual adjustment and understanding. For South Korea, more active participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is worth a try. The U.S. needs to understand South Korea's hesitation to fully participate in the U.S.-initiated TMD. Technically, the proximity to North Korea's high speed ballistic missiles may nullify the South's missile defense efforts. Politically, such participation will irritate China and Russia. Particularly, U.S. recognition of Japan's claim over Dokdo (Takesima) island, if any, will pour cold water on ROK-U.S.-Japan trilateral maritime cooperation, and dishearten 'ordinary South Koreans' who pin high expectations on the 'strategic alliance.'
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Japan, China, South Korea, and Island
4683. Crisis and Consensus; America and ASEAN in a New Global Context
- Author:
- Donald K. Emmerson
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- No crisis is uniformly global. The suffering and the opportunity that a “global” crisis entails are always unevenly distributed across countries, and unevenly across the population inside any one country. That said, one can nevertheless argue that we—not the old royal “we” but, more presumptuously, the new global “we”—are in January 2009 experiencing the latest of four dramatic changes that major parts of the world have undergone over the last twenty years. In 1989, of course, the Berlin Wall was breached, ending the Cold War, followed by the implosion of Lenin's Soviet dystopia two years later. Nor did the 1989 massacre of proreform demonstrators in Tiananmen Square revive a command economy in China. Instead it kept the polity shut so that Deng's economy could continue to open.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Globalization, and International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, America, Israel, Asia, and Berlin
4684. A Roadmap for U.S.-China Collaboration on Carbon Capture and Sequestration
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Asia Society
- Abstract:
- Global greenhouse gas emissions are fast approaching unsustainable and alarming levels . There is broad consensus that these emissions, caused primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, have led to global warming. it is increasingly evident that maintaining the current trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions poses wide-ranging and potentially catastrophic risks to natural systems and human welfare . it is also clear that an unprecedented level of global cooperation will be necessary to successfully confront the immense challenge of reversing the effects of climate change.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, Environment, Bilateral Relations, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
4685. China and the Global Environment: Learning from the Past, Anticipating the Future
- Author:
- Katherine Morton
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- One of the greatest dilemmas of the early 21st century is how to satisfy the demands of densely populated states in the context of a global environmental crisis. As the world's biggest polluter and prominent emerging world power, China is at the centre of the global debate. Worsening pollution trends, increasing resource scarcity, and widespread ecological degradation have serious implications for China's ongoing modernisation drive. The spillover effects across borders also pose a challenge to its relations with the outside world. Although China's per capita CO2 emissions are low relative to the United States and Australia, they already exceed the world average. In 2007, China overtook the United States to become the world's largest aggregate emitter.
- Topic:
- Environment, Government, International Trade and Finance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, and Australia
4686. U.S.-China Cooperation on Nuclear Power
- Author:
- John R. Lyman
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- In 2007, the Atlantic Council of the United States (the Council) partnered with the U.S./China Energy and Environment Technology Center (EETC) at Tsinghua and Tulane Universities to hold a series of dialogues to foster cooperation between the United States and China on developing secure and sustainable energy supplies. Over the past several years, the Council and EETC have invited key organizations, experts from industry and government, and representatives from relevant United States (U.S.) and Chinese government agencies to become directly involved in several meetings designed to identify concrete recommendations for increasing official governmental and industry cooperation.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Diplomacy, Energy Policy, Bilateral Relations, and Nuclear Power
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Asia
4687. Engaging China and Russia on Nuclear Disarmament
- Author:
- Cristina Hansell (ed) and William C. Potter (ed)
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
- Abstract:
- Today two key nuclear powers, China and Russia, stand at the crossroads of nuclear policy: both Beijing and Moscow are reassessing their nuclear policies and postures. The decisions they make will affect their negotiating positions for years to come; therefore, now is the time to engage both countries in discussions about deep nuclear reductions that could ultimately lead to the elimination of their arsenals. Such actions will contribute to reaching “nuclear zero”—the complete elimination of all nuclear weapons—an idea that was the focus of two recent opinion articles coauthored by George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger, and Sam Nunn, who stressed the necessity of “turning the goal of a world without nuclear weapons into a practical enterprise among nations.”
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Russia and China
4688. China Rising: Peace, Power, and Order in East Asia
- Author:
- David C. Kang
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Columbia University Press
- Abstract:
- Throughout the past three decades East Asia has seen more peace and stability than at any time since the Opium Wars of 1839-1841. During this period China has rapidly emerged as a major regional power, averaging over nine percent economic growth per year since the introduction of its market reforms in 1978. Foreign businesses have flocked to invest in China, and Chinese exports have begun to flood the world. China is modernizing its military, has joined numerous regional and international institutions, and plays an increasingly visible role in international politics. In response to this growth, other states in East Asia have moved to strengthen their military, economic, and diplomatic relations with China. But why have these countries accommodated rather than balanced China's rise? David C. Kang believes certain preferences and beliefs are responsible for maintaining stability in East Asia. Kang's research shows how East Asian states have grown closer to China, with little evidence that the region is rupturing. Rising powers present opportunities as well as threats, and the economic benefits and military threat China poses for its regional neighbors are both potentially huge; however, East Asian states see substantially more advantage than danger in China's rise, making the region more stable, not less. Furthermore, although East Asian states do not unequivocally welcome China in all areas, they are willing to defer judgment regarding what China wants and what its role in East Asia will become. They believe that a strong China stabilizes East Asia, while a weak China tempts other states to try to control the region. Many scholars downplay the role of ideas and suggest that a rising China will be a destabilizing force in the region, but Kang's provocative argument reveals the flaws in contemporary views of China and the international relations of East Asia and offers a new understanding of the importance of sound U.S. policy in the region.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Arms Control and Proliferation, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, and Power Politics
- Political Geography:
- China and East Asia
- Publication Identifier:
- 9780231141888
- Publication Identifier Type:
- ISBN
4689. Muddling along with Missiles
- Author:
- Dongho Jo
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- On April 5, 2009, North Korea carried out a rocket launch. North Korea argued that it was a satellite launch vehicle rather than a warhead-carrying ballistic missile, and portrayed the launch in innocuous and civilian terms, even naming the rocket “Unha,” which means “Galaxy” in Korean, to emphasize its space-oriented function. However, most nations, including Japan, South Korea, and the United States, suspect that these words were only a cover for a test of North Korea’s long-range missile technology. In addition, North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test on May 25, followed by several launches of short-range missiles from its east coast. Furthermore, North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles on July 2 and additional seven missiles on July 4, despite the United Nations Security Council’s unanimous adoption of Resolution 1874 on June 12, condemning North Korea’s hostile activities in the strongest possible terms. Why has North Korea gone ahead with its provocative actions in the face of serious opposition from most of the outside world? To date, analysts have focused on the political aspects of the missile launch. They speculate that its purpose was to push the United States toward bilateral dialogue or to pressure the South Korean government to return to its more positive stance known as the “sunshine policy.” Others argue that the launch was meant to strengthen leadership’s weakening hold inside the country and to ensure its dynastic line of succession. All of these explanations are plausible, and North Korea, of course, may have had multiple goals. But observers seeking to understand the North Korea’s actions are missing one critical component: the economic factor. The North Korean economy was in very poor shape in the 1990s and is still experiencing difficulties. This economic hardship, however, has not only been evident in recent decades but had already begun in the early 1970s, mainly due to lack of capital. Since then, the country’s top economic priority has been to determine how to encourage foreign capital to help the North Korea escape from economic shortages. One alternative pursued since the mid-1990s has been to develop the missile program as an effective means of earning foreign exchange. Understanding the part played by the economic situation in North Korea’s decisions about its missile program is the purpose of this brief article.
- Topic:
- Security, Military Strategy, Conflict, Space, and Missile Defense
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Asia, South Korea, and North Korea
4690. Prospects for Change in the Beijing-Pyongyang Nexus
- Author:
- Sukhee Han
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- Having detonated its first nuclear device in October 2006, North Korea conducted its second nuclear test on May 25, 2009. Having consistently attempted to dissuade the North from such tests, China has been infuriated by the North’s defiance of Chinese advice and interests. Immediately after the 2009 test, China released a statement almost identical to the one it announced in the wake of the 2006 test. Beijing’s unprecedented wrath and “resolute opposition” to Pyongyang’s unmannerly behavior had been clearly expressed in the 2006 statement. In the 2009 statement, the Chinese government “strongly demands” that Pyongyang abide by its non-nuclearization commitments, “stop actions that may lead to a further deterioration of the situation,” and “return to the track of the Six-Party Talks.” Furthermore, China’s subsequent vote in favor of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874, which was designed to impose tougher sanctions on the Pyongyang regime than its previous resolution passed in 2006, seemed to indicate that China may implement a strategic shift away from North Korea and may also increase its strategic cooperation with the international community in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue. Witnessing China’s stern behavior toward the North, some China watchers in Washington and Seoul have argued that North Korea’s second nuclear test, along with a series of other provocations in the first half of 2009, which included a rocket launch and a complete withdrawal from the Six-Party Talks, have prompted China to reconsider its long-standing policy of amity toward North Korea. In contrast to its traditional policy, China since the 2009 nuclear test has not hesitated to make it clear in its official statements that North Korea has become a liability than a strategic asset, and that it was not satisfied with North Korea’s arbitrary behavior threatening the stability of the Korean Peninsula. Remarkably open discussions about North Korea have also been permitted in the Chinese academia and media. In the debates, some Chinese analysts have criticized their government for its failure to get tough with North Korea; others have also advocated for Beijing to take a firmer stance toward North Korea. These debates seem to be a departure from the traditional brotherly attitudes many Chinese have shared concerning North Korea, and also serve as convincing reasons for many experts to argue that China may change its policy toward North Korea. At the same time, however, China has made clear that it intends to continue its traditional policy of friendship toward North Korea. U.S. foreign policy circles have frequently commented that the Chinese leadership has become increasingly angry at the Kim Jong-il regime, especially in the wake of the second nuclear test, and that Beijing is willing and able to use its leverage to pressure Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program. In contrast, however, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, during his visit to Pyongyang to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of PRC-DPRK(People’s Republic of China-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) diplomatic relations, reassured North Korea of its economic patronage by providing a number of economic measures for expanding China’s economic exchanges with the North. Furthermore, the recent visit of Liang Guanglie, China’s defense minister, to North Korea has also consolidated the Sino–North Korean military alliance. His avowal of “China’s willingness to have closer military contacts with the DPRK” must have provided more confidence for the North Korean leaders in dealing with post–nuclear test reactions. Given this situation, that China’s national interest concerning North Korea has been the maintenance of peace and stability is reconfirmed. On the one hand, in order to keep Pyongyang from further undermining peninsular security, Beijing has resolutely opposed North Korea’s provocations. China’s statements have emphasized its diplomatic pursuit of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and have also underscored that China, as a great power, acknowledges that it shares responsibility for preserving regional order and stability. On the other hand, China still places more importance on the maintenance of the status quo, in the sense of supporting the North Korean regime itself. China has exerted much more effort on behalf of the North’s survival than on behalf of its denuclearization. While China has in principle supported the UN economic sanctions on the North, it has never been sympathetic to the implementation of realistically effective sanctions. In facing Kim Jong-il’s presumed health concerns and subsequent contingencies in the North, however, China has realized that the status quo on the Peninsula cannot always guarantee regional peace and stability. Given that the demise of Kim Jong-il himself is relatively imminent and certainly inevitable, China has to adopt a new approach to North Korea. China’s chief concern is to strengthen its economic and military grip over the North with the intention of keeping the regime afloat and its leadership under China’s control even after Kim Jong-il has passed from the scene.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, and North Korea
4691. Are Chinese Exports Sensitive to Changes in the Exchange Rate?
- Author:
- Shaghil Ahmed
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- This paper builds a model of two types of Chinese exports, those processed and assembled laregely from imported inputs ("processed" exports) and "non- processed" exports. Based on this model, the sensitivity of Chinese exports to exchange rate changes is empirically examined. Unlike previous work, the estimation period includes the net real appreciation of the renminbi that has occurredoverthepastthreeyears. Theresultsshowthatgreaterexchangerate appreciation dampens export growth, both for non-processed and processed ex- ports, with the estimated cumulative price elasticity being substantially greater thanunity. WhenthesourceoftheincreaseintheChineserealexchangerateis appreciations against the currencies of other emerging Asian trading partners, the e§ect on processing exports is positive but insignÖcant, while the e§ect on non-processing exports is signiÖcantly negative. By contrast, when the source of the increase in the Chinese real exchange rate is appreciation against Chinaís advanced-economy trading partners, the e§ects on both types of exports are negative. These results are consistent with the predictions of the theoretical model. Counterfactualsimulationsbasedontheestimatedmodelstronglysug- gest that if the trade-weighted real renminbi had appreciated at an annual rate of 10 percent per quarter since mid-2005, Chinese real exports would have been roughly 30 percent lower today. Thus greater exchange rate áexibility could contribute to lowering Chinaís huge trade surplus through restraining growth of exports.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Exchange Rate Policy, and Exports
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
4692. China's Transition to a Knowledge Economy (pdf)
- Author:
- Sangaralingam Ramesh
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- The Coastal regions of China have benefited more from reform policies associated with China’s research and educational sectors. These reforms were put in place to ensure that the results of knowledge creation activities from universities and research institutes ‘spilled over’ into the entrepreneurial economy. Human Capital is important to any knowledge activity whether creation or transfer. The development of Human Capital is through education .This factor may ultimately be responsible for long term growth by technological innovation .In this context it is necessary to discuss the two dominant schools of thought regarding economic growth before considering other aspects of knowledge spillovers.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Reform, Capitalism, Human Capital, and Innovation
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
4693. Infrastructure, Knowledge Creation and Spillovers and Economic Growth in China
- Author:
- Sangaralingam Ramesh
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- The economic prosperity associated with the Coastal regions of China has not ‘trickled’ down to the Western and Central regions sufficiently enough to eliminate the disparities in income between the regions. Indeed, the disparities between China’s Coastal regions and its other regions continue to deepen to the present day. In the Mao period the Central planners held the mistaken belief that investment in the railways and development of heavy industry in the interior parts of China would bring prosperity. In the reform period and beyond, the focus of economic development in China has been to take advantage of China’s low labour costs. In the earlier part of the reform era the focus of economic reforms centred on the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) .In the second phase of reform policies were centred on the High Technology Development Zones [NHTIDZ’s].A characteristic feature of both SEZ’s and NHTIDZ’s is that they represent a concentration of infrastructure within a predefined spatial area. The framework of analysis in this paper is the New Economic Geography [NEG] .The NEG addresses the formation of agglomeration economies accruing to physical linkages in one location. However, the NEG does not address the issue of how agglomeration economies form due to knowledge creation linkages which are location independent. The main facet of this approach is that it will allow for a qualitative analysis of the spatial aspects of the infrastructural and knowledge creation factors affecting China’s economic growth. Previous approaches which have been used to study infrastructure and economic growth in China have been based on Econometric techniques. These approaches use measures such as length of railway, length of roads and telephone density, while in reality the concentration of infrastructure in the SEZ’s and NHTIDZ’s as significantly contributed to China’s post 1978 economic growth.
- Topic:
- Infrastructure, Income Inequality, and Economic Growth
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
4694. The Assassin Under the Radar: China’s DH-10 Cruise Missile Program
- Author:
- Ian Easton
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- Of all the asymmetric weapons or “assassin maces”?China has been developing and deploying across the Taiwan Strait, perhaps none has been as poorly understood and as chronically underreported as China’s rapidly emerging DH-10 (DongHai-10), “East Sea-10″? cruise missile program.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Weapons
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, and Asia
4695. Vietnam’s Port Potential: The Economic and Political Implications of Vietnam’s Port Renovation
- Author:
- Amanda C. Morrow Jensen
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- Vietnam has an infrastructure problem in almost all sectors. It has an airport problem. It has a road problem. And Vietnam has a port problem. The real potential for Vietnam to benefit from China’s massive economy – or to benefit from any regional economic activity – lies on the water, and in the ports, which are currently too small and too shallow to effectively realize their economic potential.
- Topic:
- Economics, Politics, and Infrastructure
- Political Geography:
- China, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia
4696. China’s Commercial Aviation Sector Looks to the Future
- Author:
- Mark Stokes
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- Gleaming with confidence in the wake of its success in space, China is emerging as a global commercial aviation player. Its ambitions in commercial aviation are one facet of a broader vision to develop a modern, world-class, and integrated national air and surface transportation system.
- Topic:
- Business, Transportation, Aviation, and Commerce
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
4697. China and Congo’s Coltan Connection
- Author:
- Tiffany Ma
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- For almost 10 years, conflict minerals have sustained a devastating war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has led to over 5.4 million deaths. During these years, the world, particularly China, has continued to consume strategic minerals such as coltan which are used to produce cell phones and computers.
- Topic:
- Conflict, Mining, Supply Chains, and Minerals
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Democratic Republic of Congo
4698. The Taiwan Quadrennial Defense Review: Implications for U.S. – Taiwan Relations
- Author:
- Julia Famularo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- Although the recent cross-Strait political climate has improved, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has steadfastly refused to renounce the use of force against Taiwan while shifting the cross-Strait military balance in its favor. Faced with such challenges, the Taiwan Quadrennial Defense Review is meant to increase military transparency while convincing Taiwanese legislators, the Chinese PLA, and U.S. policy makers and analysts alike that the Ministry of National Defense is firmly dedicated to creating new strategies and engaging in reforms that will prepare the military for future challenges.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Bilateral Relations, and Military Affairs
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, Asia, and United States of America
4699. The Great Game in Space: China’s Evolving ASAT Weapons Programs and Their Implications for Future U.S. Strategy
- Author:
- Ian Easton
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- If there is a great power war in this century, it will not begin with the sound of explosions on the ground and in the sky, but rather with the bursting of kinetic energy and the flashing of laser light in the silence of outer space. China is engaged in an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons drive that has profound implications for future U.S. military strategy in the Pacific.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy, Weapons, Space, and Satellite
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia-Pacific, and United States of America
4700. China’s Evolving Conventional Strategic Strike Capability: the anti-ship ballistic missile challenge to U.S. maritime operations in the Western Pacific and beyond
- Author:
- Mark Stokes
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Project 2049 Institute
- Abstract:
- China’s anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) challenge could alter the strategic landscape in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. An effective ASBM and supporting maritime surveillance network would diminish the effectiveness of carrier-based assets, such as the F/A-18 E/F.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy, Armed Forces, Weapons, and Maritime
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia-Pacific, and United States of America