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Begin New Search Political Geography China Publication Year within 25 Years

2251. 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

2252. 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

2253. China's Foreign- and Security-policy Decision-making Processes under Hu Jintao

Author:
Jean-Pierre Cabestan
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Since 1979, foreign- and security-policy-making and implementation processes have gradually and substantially changed. New modes of operation that have consolidated under Hu Jintao, actually took shape under Jiang Zemin in the 1990s, and some, under Deng Xiaoping. While the military's role has diminished, that of diplomats, experts, and bureaucracies dealing with trade, international economic relations, energy, propaganda and education has increased. Decision making in this area has remained highly centralized and concentrated in the supreme leading bodies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, China's globalization and decentralization, as well as the increasing complexity of its international interests, have intensified the need to better coordinate the activities of the various CCP and state organs involved in foreign and security policy; hence, the growing importance of the CCP leading small groups (foreign affairs, national security, Taiwan, etc.). But the rigidity of the current institutional pattern has so far foiled repeated attempts to establish a National Security Council.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, and Globalization
Political Geography:
China and Taiwan

2254. 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

2255. 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

2256. 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

2257. 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

2258. 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

2259. 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

2260. 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