Foreign Policy Blogs

Asia & Pacific

US on China's Investments: Trust, but verify

US on China's Investments: Trust, but verify

At a time of tremendous sensitivity where many of its activities are receiving global attention, China's investment actions are no exception. The China Investment Corporation (CIC) is China's firm, which manages its foreign exchange reserves. A sovereign wealth fund, the CIC was established in 2007 in response to enormous state losses, resulting from the rising Yuan and the plummeting […]

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Making Headway Across the Strait

Making Headway Across the Strait

This Thursday morning in Beijing, China and Taiwan came to the table for talks to mutually  build confidence despite more than a decade of tense and untrusting exchanges. The last formal talks to take place between Beijing and Taipei occurred in 1999. Facilitating this dialogue was Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and its Mainland Chinese counterpart. […]

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Ticket on China

Ticket on China

This CFR article helps tally the stance of frontrunners on US policy toward China.    Obama vs. McCain on: The best engagement strategy. BO. In a more outward assessment, O feels strongly about putting some teeth behind the words of the next American administration, and has been quoted saying: In Asia, the emergence of an economically […]

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Quick Fact

Quick Fact

from the China Balance Sheet:  China's economic modernization has lifted almost  400 million citizens out of poverty since 1990, but  415 million Chinese still live on less than $2 per  day.

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Avoiding rising gas prices in Beijing. . .

Avoiding rising gas prices in Beijing. . .

China is working to review oil policy and strategy to determine the most favorable path forward to “bolster” oil company profits and avoid [prolong]  rising fuel costs. One large driver for this effort is the upcoming Olympic games, which has been a sore spot for the country politically and logistically these past several months. Ensuring a plan is […]

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Reviewing Chinese space and proliferation activities. . .

Reviewing Chinese space and proliferation activities. . .

An open, public hearing is being held by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission* in Washington on May 20, 2008. The topic of the hearing is “China's Proliferation Practices and the Development of its Cyber and Space Warfare Capabilities,” and seeks to collect and share information from academic, industry, and government expertise to identify […]

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Pardon the Appearance . . .

Pardon the Appearance . . .

  [Beijing's Bird's Nest, under construction in preparation for the 08 Olympic Games] . . . while we undergo some (re)construction. Please stay tuned!

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The Other Side of the Story

The Other Side of the Story

Stan Abram's China Heresay blog led me to this James Fallows' article for theAtlantic.com, recounting his personal experience in China with middle school girls, who he describes as "charming" and "open-spirited." A reminder that despite its unfortunate portrayal as a looming military and economic threat, China is doing its best to address domestic concerns, be it managing its massive and […]

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Benchmark! Free Trade for Beijing – Wellington

Benchmark! Free Trade for Beijing – Wellington

Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand, left, and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China  after the signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (China Daily/Reuters) China and New Zealand have signed a free trade agreement, effective October 1st, marking the first concluded agreement China has signed with a developed country. Talks […]

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The China Trade Fair 2008, Kathmandu

The China Trade Fair 2008, Kathmandu

China will be setting up shop in Kathmandu April 25-28, driven by Nepal China Executives Council (NCEC) and the PRC Embassy in Nepal to educate the Nepali people on modern machinery, automobiles, electronics, medical and agricultural instruments, and home appliances.  Nepal looks to learn, by China's guidance, how these industries have propelled successes in China's […]

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Boycotting the Olympics? How about Boycotting your SUV?

Boycotting the Olympics? How about Boycotting your SUV?

(Hummer H6 Player Edition is a $103,000 "Super SUV," six-wheeled with a horse power of 325hp and torque of 365 lbs-ft) Darfur and the Olympic games. China is a key player in both, but rather than throwing a blanket over both issues to determine cause-effect and prescribe a solution, we need to be more careful about […]

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China & Hillary

China & Hillary

According to NPR, a survey of almost 5,000 Chinese shows that support for candidates is divided as follows: Clinton – 60% Obama – 24% McCain – 7% The clip explains that Hillary is favored simply because she is the most known.  Let us not forget her address at the 1995 UN World Conference on Women in Beijing. Listen here […]

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Boosting Cuba

Boosting Cuba

(Adalberto Roque / Agence-France Presse) The timing of it all! With Castro out and the prospect of a waning trade embargo in a new American administration, Beijing stands a little taller this spring. It is openly noted that Raul Castro is ready to replicate China in planning for Cuban economic reform, an extension of Fidel's fascination […]

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X-Post // From Sao Paolo to Shanghai: Inequality and Growth, Past and Present, by R. Basas

X-Post // From Sao Paolo to Shanghai: Inequality and Growth, Past and Present, by R. Basas

For US-China Trade's first-ever cross post, I am excited to vehicle this article by Rich Basas (blogger for FPA's Latin America blog, and co-blogger for the Migration blog). He compares patterns of economy between Brazil and China and parallels their struggle with growth and unequal dispersion of wealth.

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The Rebalancing Act, v.2

FPA sent me a link to an article opposing the theory that the trade imbalance between China and other major players can be resolved by a stronger Yuan. David D. Hale and Lyric Hughes Hale frame the problem as one larger than the imbalance between China's exports and the weakening US economy: "The greater and far […]

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