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2212. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Context of the Chinese Grand Strategy
- Author:
- Tommaso Rossotti
- Publication Date:
- 07-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
- Institution:
- Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
- Abstract:
- Being the most populous country and the second biggest economy in the world, the People’s Republic of China is under every aspect one of the most important players in today’s international system. As every great power, China acts rationally in its foreign relations, and, doing so, it follows what has been labelled as a “Grand Strategy”. The aim of this paper is to analyse Chinese Grand Strategy in a practical perspective; in particular, it will be discussed how the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) fits in Beijing foreign policy and in its Grand Strategy. The paper moves from a working definition of Grand Strategy, to suddenly analyse how and if the different aims and goals of the SCO are aligned with China’s interests and long-term objectives.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Hegemony, and Strategic Interests
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
2213. Transforming the Rice Value Chain: A Whole-of-Society Approach?
- Author:
- Jose Montesclaros and Paul Teng
- Publication Date:
- 10-2018
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- The International Rice Congress (IRC) 2018 held in Singapore, 15-17 October 2018, provided new insights and refreshing ideas on how the rice value chain has been transforming. It also underscored the need for a Whole-of-Society approach to secure enough rice for all in 2050.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Food Security, and Value Chains
- Political Geography:
- China, India, Philippines, and Singapore
2214. Social Media Celebrities and Neoliberal Body Politics in China
- Author:
- Anett Dippner
- Publication Date:
- 09-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)
- Abstract:
- Since 2015, a new category of media stars came to public awareness and sparked a controversial discussion in China: Internet Celebrities (Wanghong). “Wanghongs” build their fame and fandom mostly on their eyecatching and hyperfeminine appearance which they are presenting extensively on Social Media platforms to gain public attention and acquire followers and fans. The stereotypical so-called “Internet Celebrity face” (Wanghong lian) became the most discussed buzz word of the year 2016 and led to a society-wide discussion about new beauty ideals and the growing popularity of cosmetic surgery, the objectification and commercialization of the body, as well as the increasing importance of an appropriate appearance for the individual’s social and economic success since the 2000s. For tracing these questions, the article analyses the development and characteristics of this new group of celebrities and locates them in the booming “Beauty Economy”. By literally selling their beautiful face, Wanghongs convert symbolic capital through e-commerce and online advertising into real economic advantages. The utilitarization of “body capital” heats up the public discourse about yanzhi (value of a pretty face) in China’s status-conscious society. With an analysis of the so called “Internet Celebrities” phenomenon this paper looks behind the sparkling Social Media façade and reveals the social and economic conditions that led to this new ideology of beauty as capital in China.
- Topic:
- Mass Media, Internet, Social Media, and Neoliberalism
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
2215. The Chinese People’s Republic Investment Engagement in Belarus and Ukraine after 2010
- Author:
- Patrycja Rutkowska and Adam Adamczyk
- Publication Date:
- 03-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
- Institution:
- Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this article is to present and compare China’s economic, political and military involvement in Ukraine and Belarus, with particular emphasis on their role in the global expansion of the PRC. China after the opening of the economy to the world in the early 1980s, immediately became one of the most important elements of the global economy. The article will attempt an analysis of Chinese investments on the Dnieper, but also the political and military aspects of this cooperation.
- Topic:
- Politics, Economy, Investment, and Army
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, Eurasia, Ukraine, Asia, and Belarus
2216. Financing Green Growth
- Author:
- Gregor Semieniuk and Mariana Mazzucato
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- This paper surveys the current state of financing green growth in the energy sector, based on the insight that there are different qualities of finance. In past transformational changes in other sectors, public monies played a key role across the innovation landscape. Public financing was central also in a number of past national energy transitions, as reviewed here for Iceland (from fossil to geothermal energy), Norway (from mainly non-electricity energy to hydroelectricity), France (from oil to nuclear) and the United States (from conventional to shale gas). In the current transition to low-carbon energy supplies, there is much public activity, most directed and concerted in China, but also reasons to doubt it is enough and applied in the right places to be able to finance the transition to a low carbon sector on time scales consistent with current climate change mitigation targets. A discussion of opportunities and challenges to a more central role for public financing concludes, drawing also on insights from the recent mission-oriented innovation literature.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Finance, Green Technology, and Renewable Energy
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, Asia, France, North America, Iceland, and United States of America
2217. American Radical Economists in Mao’s China: From Hopes to Disillusionment
- Author:
- Isabella M. Weber and Gregor Semieniuk
- Publication Date:
- 10-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- American radical economists in the 1960s perceived China under Maoism as an important experiment in creating a new society, aspects of which they hoped could serve as a model for the developing world. But the knowledge of ‘actually existing Maoism’ was very limited due to the mutual isolation between China and the US. This paper analyses the First Friendship Delegation of American Radical Political Economists (FFDARPE) to the People’s Republic of China in 1972, consisting mainly of Union for Radical Political Economics (URPE) members, which was the first visit of a group of American economists to China since 1949. Based on interviews with trip participants as well as archival and published material, this paper studies what we can learn about the engagement with Maoism by American radical economists from their dialogues with Chinese hosts, from their on-the-ground observations, and their reflection upon return. We show how the visitors’ own ideas conflicted and intersected with their perception of the Maoist practice on gender relations; workers’ management and life in the communes. We also shed light on the diverging conceptions of the role for economic expertise between URPE and late Maoism. As the first in-depth study on the FFDARPE we provide rich empirical insights into an ice-breaking event in the larger process of normalization in the Sino- U.S relations, that ultimately led to the disillusionment of the Left with China.
- Topic:
- Radicalization, Capitalism, Economic Theory, Transition, and Socialism
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, North America, and United States of America
2218. The Mainstream Economics Interpretation of the Local State and Central-Local Relations in Post-Mao China: a Critical Review
- Author:
- Alexandre De Podesta Gomes
- Publication Date:
- 11-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- Decentralization and the role of local governments have long been touted as key factors in the Chinese economic miracle. This paper intends to critically assess the chief theories advanced by mainstream economics in its attempt to make sense of these aspects of China’s growth story. Firstly the theoretical underpinnings of fiscal federalism, new institutional economics, and market-preserving federalism approaches will be presented, as these theories offer the bedrock for most of the applied insights in which China is framed through the lenses of the central-local relations debate. Secondly, the idea of ‘market-preserving federalism, Chinese-style’ will be critically appraised, highlighting its shortcomings. Thirdly, the paper proceeds by bringing in the mainstream response to these problems, relying on the notion of political incentives and career concerns faced by local cadres. It will be argued that the continual adherence to some core tenets dear to the new institutional economics literature in all previous explanations prevents this broad camp of knowledge to properly grasp the complex dynamics of China’s decentralization drive and the role of local governments in the process. Finally, and in closing, an alternative approach will be offered.
- Topic:
- Economics, Local, Decentralization, and Federalism
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
2219. Endowment Structure, Industry Dynamics and Vertical Production Structure in China-Theory and Evidence
- Author:
- Jim H. Shen, Leilei Shen, and Jun Zhang
- Publication Date:
- 12-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
- Abstract:
- This paper proposes a theoretical model and shows that the comparative advantage of China’s factor endowment allows firms specializing in the midstream stage to gain at least as much as firms that specialize in the two ends of the supply chain (capital-intensive stage and labour- intensive stage) in terms of labour productivity and profitability, if and only if they have at least as much viability and use intermediate level of capital intensity. The empirical results are consistent with the theory’s predictions. Our findings on China’s industry supply chain production patterns provide a new angle on the division of gains in the vertical production network driven by the endowment structure. This could have far-reaching implications for the industrial development of other middle-income countries.
- Topic:
- Industrial Policy, Labor Issues, Capital, and Production
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
2220. Do Not Fall for the Hype on U.S.-China Natural Gas Trade
- Author:
- Melanie Hart, Luke Bassett, and Blaine Johnson
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for American Progress - CAP
- Abstract:
- The Trump administration’s obsession with fossil fuel exports plays into Beijing’s grand strategy to become the next high-tech superpower.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, International Trade and Finance, Science and Technology, Natural Resources, Hegemony, Gas, and Rivalry
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, North America, and United States of America