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151. 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

152. 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

153. 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

154. 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

155. "Building a New Socialist Countryside" – Only a Political Slogan?

Author:
Anna L. Ahlers and Gunter Schubert
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In March 2006, China's National People's Congress officially promulgated the central government's intention to “build a new socialist countryside”, a new policy initiative and approach to rural development. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in two Chinese counties in 2008 and 2009, this article investigates how the new policy is being substantiated and implemented at the local level. It argues that by combining China's new fiscal system of transfer payments to poor local governments with administrative reforms, intensified internal project evaluation, and efforts to increase the rural income through a mixture of infrastructural investment, agricultural specialization, the expansion of social welfare, and accelerated urbanization, “building a new socialist countryside” constitutes more than a political slogan and has the potential to successfully overcome rural poverty and the rural-urban divide.
Political Geography:
China

156. The Centrality of Actors and Interfaces in the Understanding of New Ruralities: A Chinese Case Study

Author:
Norman Long and Jinlong Liu
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper aims to demonstrate the advantages of adopting an ethnographic, actor interface approach to understanding the ongoing dynamics of rural development and policy intervention processes. It does so through the discussion of an EU-fun ded project orientated to introducing village-level forest-management practices in north-west China. The case highlights the ongoing everyday struggles over livelihoods and resources and focuses on the negotiations that take place between the various social actors involved. The case analysis is preceded by a broad- sweep overview of the rise of new ruralities and a discussion of the key elements of an actor interface analysis. The article concludes with a call for more cross-country and cross-regional studies of this kind.
Political Geography:
China

157. Social Security for China's Migrant Workers – Providing for Old Age

Author:
Andrew Watson
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The concept of “migrant workers” derives from the house- hold registration system of China's planned economy period. The continued existence of that system conflicts with the development of an integrated labour market. The current social security system, based on household registration and a large number of local pools, discriminates against migrant workers because of their mobility and the lack of mechanisms to transfer benefits between pools. As a result, migrants have made major contributions to China's economic development but do not get the same benefits as urban residents. Faced with this challenge, China's government has begun to introduce policy reforms to improve social security for migrants. This article explores this development through a focus on old-age insurance. It analyses the special needs of migrants, the obstacles facing policy development and the proposed solutions. It argues that social justice and social equity require the development of a system that treats all citizens equally, and that the logic of an integrated labour market will ultimately require a unified national system of old-age insurance.
Political Geography:
China

158. China's Urban-Rural Integration Policies

Author:
Ye Xingqing
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The analysis presented here is based on the keynote speech discussing the most recent development s in rural policy on urban-rural integration in China delivered in Chinese by Professor Ye Xingqing at the Ninth European Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development in China (ECARDC9) held at the University of Leeds in the UK on 3-5 April 2009. Professor Ye's paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main initiatives, their rationale and their context, including some of the debates surrounding them. Professor Ye, who is an invited keynote speaker of ECARDC9 and the director-general of the Department for Rural Economy, Research Office of the State Council, People's Republic of China, has been personally involved in the process of formulating these policy initiatives. This translation of his paper seeks to convey properly the author's meanings and to strike a balance between documenting the official perspective and rationales, including the use of concepts, on the one hand and ease of comprehension on the other. The translator's notes are intended only for the clarification of, not commentary on, the content.
Political Geography:
China

159. Reorganizing Rural Public Finance: Reforms and Consequences

Author:
John Q. Tian
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This article examines recent reforms to restructure rural public finance in China and their impact on local-government finance. The focus is on how fiscal income and financial expenditure are managed by local-level governments, particularly at the county and township levels, and how rural public and social services are financed. The article also looks at the development of intergovernmental transfers, ongoing administrative reform, more recent initiatives to extend public finance to cover rural residents as part of the comprehensive rural reform, and a new campaign to build a new socialist rural China.
Political Geography:
China

160. Empire, Hegemony, and Leadership: Developing a Research Framework for the Study of Regional Powers

Author:
Sandra Destradi
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Regional powers are often conceived of as “regional leading powers,” states which adopt a cooperative and benevolent attitude in their international relations with their neighbors. The paper argues that regional powers can follow a much wider range of foreign policy strategies in their region. Three ideal-typical regional strategies are identified: empire, hegemony, and leadership. The paper is devoted to a theory-led distinction and clarification of these three terms, which are often used interchangeably in the field of international relations. According to the goals pursued, to the means employed, and to other discriminating features such as the degree of legitimation and the type of self-representation by the dominant state, the paper outlines the essential traits of imperial, hegemonic, and leading strategies and identifies subtypes for better classifying hegemony and leadership.
Topic:
International Relations, International Political Economy, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
China, India, and Brazil