The need for international co-operation has never been greater, yet global governance is inadequate. Whether one looks at the Doha round of trade liberalisation, the climate change talks led by the United Nations, the G20's efforts to co-ordinate economic and financial policies, or efforts to reform the UN Security Council (UNSC), not much is being achieved. 'Multilateralism'–the system of international institutions and rules intended to promote the common good–appears to be weakening. At the same time, the growing influence of China, Russia and other non-Western powers is pushing the international order towards 'multipolarity'.
This report compares Russian and Chinese security perceptions and explains how they shape the two countries' policies towards each other. It argues that the modern relationship between the two countries, formed in the late 19th and 20th centuries, was turned on its head at the start of the 21st century. China has now become a powerful factor affecting a whole range of Russian policies, both domestic and foreign. The paper also argues that, while Russia is not central to China's foreign relations, and non-existent in China's domestic politics, good relations with Moscow are an important supporting element in Beijing's overall strategy of reclaiming China's 'rightful place in the world'. It concludes that while both countries need each other and would benefit from a stable political relationship and close economic ties, both Moscow and Beijing lack the long-term strategies to create such a bond.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Bilateral Relations
December 2011 marked China's 10th anniversary as a member of the World Trade Organization. Despite progress on market reforms in a number of areas, China has failed to live up to a wide range of promised WTO commitments. To make matters worse, China has actually regressed towards less open markets and "state capitalism" in key sectors. China's unfair currency manipulation has been a flashpoint in its trade relations with the United States and we must aggressively address that practice. But, China doesn't rely on currency alone to get an edge. Rather, it employs an entire array of unfair tactics to block American exports and investments and deny economic opportunity for our workers, manufacturers, farmers and service providers.
Slow growth here and in China, and recession in Europe are reducing demand for oil. Inventories in the U.S. are at a 22-year high. The Federal Reserve Board's QEs that pumped paper money into the economy and drove up the nominal price of oil have come to an end. And the twelve OPEC oil cartelists, who between them supply 40% of the world's oil, are producing 1.6 million barrels in excess of the agreed daily quota of 30 million barrels. As a result, U.S. benchmark crude oil prices are now closer to $80 per barrel than to the $110 they reached only four months ago.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Oil
Americans are right to be dismayed with U.S. energy policy. For forty years, presidents of both parties have backed a series of fanciful "breakthrough technologies." From synfuels to Solyndra, these schemes have turned out to be costly disappointments and the source of a recurring political drama. After failures become clear, Congress sometimes conducts oversight hearings. But it welcomes each new scheme as a pretext for pork barrel politics. Neither the executive nor the legislature ever learns from past failures.