China

Working Final Draft: HUB CONTAINER MARITIME COMMERCE THE RE-EMERGENCE OF THE INDIAN OCEAN AT GLOBAL LEVEL

by Jacques Coulardeau

Since the financial crisis in mid 2008 and the subsequent downturn in international maritime commerce in 2009, recovery is slow and will take more time than expected.

This crisis and the subsequent downturn did not change the trend that was developing before, viz. the emergence of Asia led by china first and India second, of Latin America led by Brazil and of Africa without a real leader apart from South Africa. In fact this crisis and the subsequent downturn increased the trend by bringing down the USA first and then Europe. In fact apart from these two western blocks only Russia really suffered for one year or so. The other emerging countries experienced a slowdown at worst. China itself is in fact encouraged toward relying on and encouraging its national market, moving toward a consumer’s society, national consumption becoming the real economic incentive, and yet to target Asia, Africa and Latin America on the international market. The recovery after 2009 for Asian exports is up 12% for Latin America, 18% for Africa and only 5% for Northern America and Europe.

In fact the emergence of Asia has changed the world and the crisis is amplifying the change. “In recent years intra-Asian liner shipping [container shipping] has become larger than Asia-US, Asia-Europe and trans-Atlantic liner volumes.”  The direct consequence is the shift from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the Indian Ocean, with its 20% of global sea water and its 40% of global coast line. This Indian Ocean is becoming the very centre of this vast emerging area comprising China, India and the rest of Asia, eastern Africa and South Africa and the Middle East.

We are going to study this restructuring and repositioning of the Indian Ocean and Asia in the global commerce at the beginning of the 21st century. Very few people have a distinct idea of what is happening today, and for those who like plots we could say that the financial wizards who planned the 2008 crisis had not foreseen that it was going to backfire in their hands to the point of shifting the centre of global business from them to Asia, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

I will very fast look at the past up to 1433, and then at the colonization of the Indian Ocean and Asia by the... more I will very fast look at the past up to 1433, and then at the colonization of the Indian Ocean and Asia by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the English and the French.

I will then consider the strategic position of the Indian Ocean and in that Indian Ocean the strategic position of Sri Lanka for maritime commerce.  That will bring China into the picture as a major investor and stakeholder in that maritime development.

Considering the main problems of this maritime commerce which are congested bottlenecks and security, I will try to understand the new means container freight commerce and information technology based on satellite surveillance can bring to these problematic questions. I will incidentally consider the various regional rivalries if not conflicts or potential conflicts that may disrupt this development.

That will bring me to the conclusive hypothesis that China has more stakes in the Indian Ocean than may seem at first, and most of these stakes are economic and only subsequently some are social. The result anyway is the re-emergence of the Indian Ocean as the global maritime centre of human development and commercial enterprise.

Reducing Energy Subsidies in China, India and Russia: Dilemmas for Decision Makers

by Indra Overland

The Eurozone crisis – opportunity or danger for EU-China investment relations?

by Stephanie Ghislain

Draft paper for the EU-China Youth Policy Dialogue 2012

Team Yao: Yao Ming, the NBA, Sporting Goods and Selling Sport to China

by John Nauright

co-authored with Ben Keeler, published in American Journal of Chinese Studies 12: 2 (2005), 203-218.

On October 30, 2002, Chinese star Yao Ming made his debut in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston... more On October 30, 2002, Chinese star Yao Ming made his debut in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets.  Yao Ming was not the first Chinese player to don an NBA uniform, but he was by far the most significant in terms of both pure basketball skill and commercial potential.  This historic contest against the Indiana Pacers not only marked his first NBA game, but it was the culmination of a long planned relationship between the NBA and China.  Yao has made a difference on the court for his team, but his impact is far grander and wider reaching when looking at international marketing and business implications.  Sponsors see Yao as the gateway to the Asian market; he is the NBA symbol for globalization.  An estimated 500 million Chinese tuned into Yao’s NBA debut on television.  In October of 2004 Yao was ranked 19th in the Sports Business Journal’s listing of the twenty most influential people in professional basketball.  Yao was one of only two current players on the list, along with mega-superstar Shaquille O’Neal.  Both China and the United States share the same capitalist dream for Yao.  The whole Yao situation was compared by a Chinese diplomat as similar to that of the United States – China “ping-pong” diplomacy of the 1970s, when the two countries started to build relations through sport. 
    This paper details the relationship that the NBA has worked so hard to cultivate with the Chinese in anticipation of someday being a major player in the region.  Following that we discuss complications involved with bringing Yao to the NBA from China. Next we examine what the arrival of the Rockets center has brought to the business world in terms of commercialization. Additionally, what Yao means to the future of basketball marketing, in both the United States, but more importantly in Asia and specifically China, and its 1.3 billion residents will be discussed.

'Defence-lite is sound policy', Ideas@The Centre, vol. 5, no. 19, May 2012.

by Benjamin Herscovitch

Abstract: Chinese Soft Power in the Taiwanese Media

by Florian Schneider

Full Title: Chinese Soft Power in the Taiwanese Media:
‘Blue’ and ‘Green’ Interpretations of the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremony.
Conference paper, presented at Hong Kong Baptist University on 15-17 June, at the conference "Chinese Culture on the World Stage".

Cultural Contradictions? The Ambiguous Relationship between Confucianism and Democratic Centralism in Communist China

by William Patterson

International Topics

Cultural Contradictions? The Ambiguous Relationship between Confucianism and Democratic Centralism in Communist China

by William Patterson

International Topics

Talking to Each Other: city-to-city interactions between New Zealand and China, and their impact on world affairs.

by Chris Lipscombe

Submitted for a Master in International Relations degree 31 March 2008

Cities are fundamental to human society. Yet states and state-makers continue to hog the limelight on the world stage,... more Cities are fundamental to human society. Yet states and state-makers continue to hog the limelight on the world stage, while cities and their citizens (city-zens) are ignored or restricted to playing historical supporting roles. A sharpening of focus on the strategic role of cities in world affairs, with specific reference to relationships between cities in New Zealand and China, has implications for international relations actors in New Zealand, as understood through a range of analytic frameworks. Using evidence from sister-city contacts between politicians, policy-makers, businesspeople and citizens of New Zealand and their Chinese counterparts, city-to-city interactions are currently seen to be taking place within state-imposed government and policy frameworks, although interactions at a business and citizen level may be laying the foundation for trans-national political communities with New Zealand and Chinese characteristics.

China-Africa Relations in the 21st Century: Engagement, Compromise and Controversy

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

Kieran E. Uchehara, " China-Africa Relations in the 21st Century: Engagement, Compromise and Controversy ", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 6, Sayı 23 (Güz), 2009

Çin’in Afrika ile ilgili dış politika gündemi, gelişmekte olan ülkeler arasındaki işbirliğini artırma ve yükselen bir... more Çin’in Afrika ile ilgili dış politika gündemi, gelişmekte olan ülkeler arasındaki işbirliğini artırma ve yükselen bir süper güç olarak statüsünü gösterme hamlesinin bir parçasını oluşturmaktadır. 2000 Pekin Deklarasyonu ve Çin-Afrika Ekonomik ve Siyasi İşbirliği Programı yenilenen ilişkilerin temelini oluşturmaktadır. Çin, Afrika ile tüm karşılıklı ilişki alanlarında Afrika ile farklı ve çeşitli ilişkiler geliştirmiştir. Ancak Çin’in büyüyen sanayisinin ihtiyaç duyduŞu Afrika’nın maden ve enerji kaynakları, 21. yüzyılda Çin’in Afrika ile iyi ilişkiler kurmasının ana sebebidir. Çin’in Afrika’daki ticaret ve yatırımındaki hızlı artış, kıtanın kalkınması ile ilgili fırsatlar ve zorlukların yapısına ilişkin ve Batı ile olduŞu gibi yeni-sömürgeci tarzı ilişkilerin gelişme ihtimalinin olup olmadığı konusunda akademisyenler ve siyasiler arasındaki uyuşmazlıkları açıŞa çıkarmıştır. Kısmen ekonomik asimetrilerden kaynaklanan ticari ve yatırım ilişkilerindeki dengesizlik, Çin’in Afrikalı baskıcı yönetimleri kınamaması ve iyi yönetilmeyen ekonomiler; kendisine hizmet eden ve kısa dönem kazanımlardan etkilenen bir dış ekonomik politikayı işaret etmektedir.

Entrepreneurship and institutional change in transition economies: The Commonwealth of Independent States, Central and Eastern Europe and China compared

by Friederike Welter

Smallbone, D. & F. Welter (2012), Entrepreneurship and institutional change in transition economies: The Commonwealth of Independent States, Central and Eastern Europe and China compared, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24 (3-4), 215-233.

This paper examines the interrelationships between institutional change and entrepreneurship development in countries... more This paper examines the interrelationships between institutional change and entrepreneurship development in countries that until recently were operating under the rules of central planning. The evidence presented in the paper shows important differences in state-entrepreneurship relationships between former Soviet republics, where the slow pace of institutional change and major institutional deficiencies has constrained the development
of productive entrepreneurship; Central European countries that are now part of the European Union (EU), where institutional changes associated with accession to the EU are associated with the state becoming an important agent of formal and informal institutional change; and China which presents something of a conundrum, since entrepreneurship has
developed rapidly despite major formal institutional deficiencies. Yang’s concept of double entrepreneurship is used to explain the so-called Chinese puzzle, where enterprise takes on a socio-political as well as a purely economic dimension. The paper demonstrates the complexity of institutional-entrepreneurship relationships, illustrated with examples of how entrepreneurs can influence institutional change even in hostile institutional
environments.

Breve introduzione al processo civile cinese

by Michel Miccoli

Anayasanın Yüzleri ve Çin Düşüncesi

by Faruk Turinay

Güncel Hukuk Dergisi'nin Mayıs 2012 sayısında yayınlandı.
Published by Güncel Hukuk Review in May 2012 volume.

The Health of Nations: Society and Law beyond State adlı eserinde Philip Allott, bir toplumun anayasasının, zaman... more The Health of Nations: Society and Law beyond State adlı eserinde Philip Allott, bir toplumun anayasasının, zaman içinde bir inşa sürecinin sonucu olduğundan bahseder. O anayasa ki, art arda gelen sebeplerin yarattığı birikmiş tesirlerin ve değişimin sürecidir . Üç boyutu vardır: düşünceler dünyası, gelişmeler dünyası ve hukuk... Bir toplumun kendini inşası, üç anayasanın yapılması demektir . Fikri anayasa (ideal constitution), kuramlar, değerler, amaçlar, fikirler seviyesinde yer alır. Gerçek anayasa (real constitution), günbegün gelişen, karşılıklı iletişimle şekillenen siyasi, iktisadi, toplumsal gücün icraatları olan olayların katındadır. Hukuki anayasa (legal constitution) ise toplumun sonsuza kadar sürecek bir sonuç-kural ilişkisi ve bunu hukuki belirli bir norma dönüştürmesiyle, ideal ve gerçek anayasalardaki kendi kendini inşa süreçleri arasındaki etkileşimle, zaman geçtikçe edindikleri güçle şekil alır . Allott’ın üçlü tasnifi göz önünde tutulursa, ‘siyasi bir kavram olarak anayasa’ kavrayışımızın ‘fikri anayasa’ ile ‘gerçek anayasa’ arasındaki etkileşim sayesinde oluşan düşünsel zemin üzerinde bir noktaya tekabül ettiğini söyleyebiliriz.

Binlerce yıllık Çin tarihinin en erken dönemlerinde anayasa kavramının izini sürmek ilginç bir deneyim olabilir. Tabii ki, bu bağlamda, anayasadan kastedilenin, toplumun idaresine hâkim olan ilkeler topluluğu olduğunu akılda tutarak... Üç bin yıl boyunca Çin devlet idaresinin bağlılığını kararlılıkla sürdürdüğü bir öğreti vardır: ‘Merhametli hükümet’ . Çinli idareciler yönetilenlerin zapturapt altında tutulmasını yumuşak bir yöntemle sağlayan bu öğretiye öylesine bağlı kalmıştır ki, onun icaplarının –en azından şeklen- yerine getirilmediği bir dönem olmamıştır. Ray Huang, merhametli hükümet öğretisinin “kamu yaşamının temel söylemi olarak kalması, bir anayasa yerini tutması”ndan söz etmektedir . Konfüçyüs’ün ardından, ‘İkinci Bilge’ ünvanıyla onurlandırılan Mencius’un ‘merhametli hükümet’inden başka miras bıraktığı başka kavramlar da vardır. Çinli düşünür, Nutuklar’ında, halkın iradesinden, hatta biraz daha ileri gidilerek halkın egemenliğinden söz etmektedir .

Chinese resource security policies and the restructuring of the Asia-Pacific iron ore market

by Jeffrey Wilson

Forthcoming with Resource Policy, 2012.

This paper reviews the restructuring of the Asia-Pacific iron ore market in the wake of the rise of the Chinese steel... more This paper reviews the restructuring of the Asia-Pacific iron ore market in the wake of the rise of the Chinese steel industry. Prior to the 2000s, this market was characterised by two key features – high firm-level concentration on both the producer and consumer sides, and price determination through annually negotiated benchmark pricing between Australian mining and Japanese steel firms. However, owing to rapid growth in the Chinese steel industry and its emergence as the region’s principal iron ore consumer, the Asia-Pacific iron ore market has been dramatically restructured during the last decade. This process has been accelerated since 2005 by Chinese governmental resource security policies, which have sought to address current record high iron ore prices through the use of foreign investment to sponsor new market entrants and the formation of an import cartel amongst the Chinese steel firms. This paper evaluates how these policies have driven restructuring in the Asia-Pacific iron ore market, through an analysis of the growth of China’s steel industry, Chinese resource security policies aimed at lowering iron ore import costs, and their effects upon the regional market’s ownership structure and price determination mechanisms. It argues that while Chinese investment and cartelisation policies have catalysed significant changes to the ownership and pricing structures of the Asia-Pacific iron ore market, they have carried only mixed benefits for the Chinese steel industry’s resource security.

International Coverage, Foreign Policy, and National Image: Exploring the Complexities of Media Coverage, Public Opinion, and Presidential Agenda

by Charles Meadows

This study employs first- and second-level agenda-setting to investigate how media salience, public opinion, and... more This study employs first- and second-level agenda-setting to investigate how media salience, public opinion, and policy agendas influence the perceptions of foreign countries in the United States. Triangulation of research methods allowed examination of media coverage, public opinion and presidential public papers. Results indicate that salience promotes awareness of inflated significance for foreign countries named in U.S. media. The study identified a strong relationship between the foreign country salience in media coverage and in presidential public papers. The hypothesis for agenda-setting effects of policy agenda on public agenda was not supported. Regarding second-level agenda-setting effects, a correlation was found to exist among a negative tone in news coverage, presidential public papers, and public opinion. In contrast, no correlation was identified pertinent to the positive valence in the three agendas.

«Una tercera via… digital: noves tecnologies i creativitat a la Xina contemporània (A Third Way...Digitally: New Technologies and Creativity in Contemporary China)

by Xavier Ortells

The economic and social reform in China, which began at the start of the 1980s, has coincided with a global revolution... more The economic and social reform in China, which began at the start of the 1980s, has coincided with a global revolution in the creation and dissemination of content. As well as contributing to its opening to the exterior and its spectacular economic growth, new technologies in China have brought with them innovative possibilities for negotiating a very sensitive social and political context, characterised by restrictions on platforms for expression and content. Both new communication media and formats (blogs, chats, forums) and digital image creation technologies (3D, virtual reality, augmented reality) offer users, artists and researchers flexibility and encourage them to find new and creative ways of interacting with society. This article highlights the impact of these new platforms and technologies in terms of two aspects: on the one hand, the dovetailing of ICTs’ horizontality and flexibility with the speed of the processes of social and political change in contemporary China; and, on the other, the conditions and opportunities for social negotiation of history coming from governmental nationalism, which is occupied with an intense process of Late Imperial revisionism.

El nacimiento del humor en China

by Xavier Ortells

El nacimiento del humor en China tiene fecha, lugar y padre claros: fue en 1924, en dos artículos del intelectual Lin... more El nacimiento del humor en China tiene fecha, lugar y padre claros: fue en 1924, en dos artículos del intelectual Lin Yutang (1895 - 1976) publicados en el suplemento literario Chenbao (Chenbao fulu) (1). Fue en estos artículos donde Lin, recién llegado de Europa con una tesis sobre literatura china completada en Harvard y Leipzig, acuñó el neologismo 'youmo' (幽默) como transcripción fonética del inglés 'humor'. Tal neologismo no ocupó, obviamente, un vacío: hasta ese momento, el término 'huaji' (滑稽) servía para referirse a lo cómico. ¿Por qué creyó Lin que 'huaji' no era suficiente? ¿Qué diferencias semánticas introdujo el nuevo 'humor'? ¿Qué nueva realidad social venía a denotar la nueva palabra? Este artículo explora las distintas motivaciones detrás de esta operación lingüística, su contexto político y cultural, así como su recepción, no exenta de polémica, que enzarzó a los máximos representantes de la modernidad intelectual china en una batalla por el lugar del humor en la sociedad.

China: the White Elephant versus the Dragon

by Marcus Goncalves

Published by Benzinga.com on April 25, 2012.

As Brazil, Russia, India and China, the BRIC countries, advance full-steam ahead; Jim O’Neil’s decade-old prediction... more As Brazil, Russia, India and China, the BRIC countries, advance full-steam ahead; Jim O’Neil’s decade-old prediction for this group of only four countries remains prescient. BRIC is growing an economy that will surpass the combined size of the great G7 economies by 2035. Very little is said, however, about China’s shattering stories of the hordes of small business owners committing suicide, leaving China, or flat out emigrating to the west. It makes me wonder how much vested interest Goldman Sachs has in such predictions.

Symbol, Thought, Action: A Semiotic Approach to the Deterritorialization of Uyghur Resistance

by Michael Caster

The State and Economic Development

by Nemanja Sukalo