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4942. Corruption in China: Half-way Over the Great Wall
- Author:
- Keith Henderson
- Publication Date:
- 11-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- The legal-judicial transformation taking place behind China's Great Wall outpaces most other developing and transitional countries, but is reaching a critical crossroads. If the pace of judicial reform is maintained and implemented, it has the potential to impact on China and the world's future as much as the economic reforms of the last two decades, if not more so. The judicial system is emerging as a key institution in the reform process, and key decisions related to judicial independence in coming years will largely determine China's stature and place within the global community, and the government's relationship with its citizens. 1 In a relatively short period of time, new criminal, civil and administrative law codes, anti- corruption laws, as well as thousands of judicial, economic and administrative regulations have either been passed, repealed or undergone substantial reform. Property rights and institutional reforms have also been enshrined in the constitution, an important Judges Law professionalising the judiciary has been passed and a number of important treaties have now been ratified. For the first time in modern Chinese history, the courts and legal profession are slowly but surely emerging as important, professional institutions with growing power. The main question of the day is whether China's leaders will now make the structural, judicial and political reforms necessary to address corruption and create an independent judiciary – albeit with Chinese characteristics.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Civil Society, and Democratization
- Political Geography:
- China
4943. Prospects for energy cooperation in North-East Asia
- Author:
- Ernest Wyciszkiewicz
- Publication Date:
- 08-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The cooperation between the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, and Japan in the field of energy is one of the major factors defining the foreign policies of these countries and determining the strategic environment in Northeast Asia. For several years now, each of the three countries has been considering means of ensuring long-term energy security (Japan and China), and the appropriate use of existing energy potential to modernise the state and improve its international standing (Russia).Although the energy cooperation between these countries is still of a limited scope, the dynamic development of the regional energy markets is to be expected, given the fast changing international setting. The nature of future relations between the three powers (whether cooperative or confrontational) in the field of energy will have an impact on both regional and global security, particularly if one considers the growing political and economic significance of the Asia-Pacific region. An analysis of the present state of this cooperation and of its future prospects entails a discussion of the existing international and domestic conditions determining the policies of the three main actors: Russia, China, and Japan.
- Topic:
- Security and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Japan, China, Israel, Northeast Asia, and Asia-Pacific
4944. Flying Geese or Sitting Ducks: China's Impact on the Trading Fortunes of other Asian Economies
- Author:
- Alan J. Ahearne, John G. Fernald, John W. Schindler, and Prakash Loungani
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- This paper updates our earlier work (Ahearne, Fernald, Loungani and Schindler, 2003) on whether China, with its huge pool of labor and an allegedly undervalued exchange rate, is hurting the export performance of other emerging market economies in Asia. We continue to find that while exchange rates matter for export performance, the income growth of trading partners matters far more. This suggests the potential for exports of all Asian economies to grow in harmony as long as global growth is strong. We also examine changes in export shares of Asian economies to the U.S. market and find evidence that dramatic changes in shares are taking place. Many of these changes are consistent with a 'flying geese' pattern in which China moves into the product space vacated by the Asian NIEs or with greater integration of trade across Asia in the production of final goods. Nevertheless, China's dramatic gains in recent years do increase the pressure on Asian economies, particularly in ASEAN and South Asia, to seek areas of comparative advantage.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Foreign Exchange, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- China, South Asia, and Asia
4945. China's Approach to the US-ROK Alliance—Background, Status, Outlook
- Author:
- Robert Sutter
- Publication Date:
- 09-2006
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- Among China's neighbors in Asia, Chinese leaders have given highest priority to relations with the governments of northeast Asia, Japan and the administrations of North and South Korea. The salient reasons have included the strategic location of these nations close to the economic centers of China's modernization, their economic, political, and military power and importance to China, and their close involvement with the United States. In terms of the last factor, Chinese leaders have long recognized the central importance of the US alliances with Japan and South Korea, and the related importance of the US military presence in both countries as enabled by the respective alliances.
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
4946. Political Economy Of De-Nuclearizing North Korea
- Author:
- Yoon-Shik Park
- Publication Date:
- 03-2006
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- In July 2005, the 4th round of the Six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear weapons program finally resumed in Beijing, China, but no one can tell the outcome of the talks that are intended to verifiably dismantle the nuclear weapons program of North Korea. It is difficult at this stage for outsiders to know why the North Korean regime reversed its previous insistence that it had chosen to become a nuclear power and would no longer bargain over it. However, it is clear that any breakthrough at the talks will be critically connected to both massive economic aid and security guarantees from the West. Without outside assistance, North Korea has no hope of achieving economic development and overcoming widespread economic hardship. Furthermore, North Korean de-nuclearization is important to the South Korean economy as well. Many foreign investors are understandably reluctant to commit their funds in South Korea as long as there is the specter of a North Korean nuclear threat. In late July 2005, for example, Fitch rating service pointed out the North Korean security issue as the most important reason not to upgrade South Korea's credit rating. Around the same time, Standard Poor's decided to upgrade South Korean credit rating by a notch due to the resumption of the long-stalemated Six-party talks.
- Political Geography:
- China, Beijing, and North Korea
4947. China's Rise in Asia and South Korea: A test case for the purported China-centered order marginalizing the United States in Asia
- Author:
- Robert Sutter
- Publication Date:
- 03-2006
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- This article assesses recent developments and the current state of play in China's relations with South Korea in order to test the widely publicized proposition that China's rise in Asia is being accompanied by an emerging China-centered regional order that is marginalizing the influence of the previous regional leader, the United States. A careful analysis of China's relations with its various neighboring countries in recent years shows that China has made the most significant gains in relations with South Korea, and these gains have coincided with a decline in US influence in South Korea brought on by major difficulties in the South Korean-US alliance relationship. Thus, if China's rise is leading to a China-centered order in Asia that marginalizes the influence of the United States, the trends in the South Korean- China relationship in the context of South Korean-US developments should provide important evidence and indicators.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Asia, and South Korea
4948. China and the Multilateral Trading System
- Author:
- Robert Z. Lawrence
- Publication Date:
- 10-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This paper reviews China's multilateral and preferential trade policies. It reviews the demanding terms of China's WTO accession, its current tariff and trade regime and its participation in the Doha Round negotiations and the institution's regular activities. The analysis concludes that China's trade policies are broadly supportive of a rules based multilateral trading order and its behavior at the WTO is that of a status quo power rather than one seeking major systemic changes. The discussion then turns to China's regional trade initiatives. China has been extremely active in negotiating these and their implications remain uncertain. Concerns about an East Asian fortress, though, appear misplaced. Directly, and through their impact in inducing others to respond, these FTAs could provide a powerful impetus to the process of competitive global liberalization. Countries that do implement agreements with China will find it relatively easy to open their markets to other developing countries. There is also a risk however that the proliferation of FTAs will lead to web of overlapping agreements that could make the trading system unnecessarily complex.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
4949. The Long March in Hong Kong: Continuing Steps in the Transition from Colony to Democracy
- Author:
- Herman B. Leonard and Thomas S. Axworthy
- Publication Date:
- 08-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Avowedly apolitical, Hong Kong is in the midst of the most rapid political transition in China and the success of this transition is crucial not only for the seven million residents of Hong Kong, but also for the future of China itself. How the authorities in Beijing respond to democratic demands from Hong Kong, and how the government of Hong Kong treads a democratic pathway within the boundaries of the Basic Law, are two of the most important questions in international politics today. China's decisions about Hong Kong will tell us much about the prospects of democratic transformation in China itself, and on that crucible the future of the 21 st century might turn.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Globalization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- China, Israel, Beijing, and Hong Kong
4950. China and the Global Economy: Medium-term Issues and Options - A Synthesis Report
- Author:
- Ricardo Hausmann, Edwin Lim, and Michael Spence
- Publication Date:
- 07-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
- Abstract:
- China's economic and social achievements since the beginning of reform and opening are unprecedented in global history. Managing the growth process in this continuously changing environment has required great skill and the use of unconventional economic policy. Now China has entered a new era in its development process with a set of challenges largely different from those of the recent past. Some problems - such as growing internal and external structural imbalances, increasing income and regional inequality – have arisen from, or been exacerbated by, the very pattern and success of high growth since reforms began. Others are newly posed by rapid changes in the global economy. These challenges can best be tackled in an integrated and coordinated fashion. This report, supported by the China Economic Research and Advisory Programme (CERAP), identifies the primary challenges facing China today and presents options for meeting them.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Globalization
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia