Some readers may be familiar with the term “expropriation,” a political risk which the Multilateral Insurance Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank affiliated insurer, defines as “an action whereby a government seizes property of assets of the foreign investor without full compensation to the investor…also referred to as ‘ownership risk’ or nationalization.” More astute readers […]
Incoming Chinese president Xi Jinping’s first trip as head of state took him to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo late last month. His inaugural trip was much heralded back in China as an assertion of Beijing’s growing soft power, and its ability to develop friendly relations with resource-laden nations. Xi began […]
Reminiscent of the carefully-choreographed 2008 Beijing Olympics, China’s unveiling on Thursday of the lineup of the new Politburo Standing Committee, its highest leadership body, took every precaution to ensure an orderly transfer of power. Security in Beijing was tightened, shops were ordered to remove fruit knives from their shelves, hotels opened and inspected all stored […]
The once-in-a-decade leadership transition in China that starts November 8 will see a new slate of top leaders installed by next spring, all eager to influence a new vision of a changing China. But the most prominent leaders to be replaced, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, are no lame ducks. Both are still […]
There has been much discussion in the Western media as to what effect Chinese President Hu Jingtao’s recent State visit to the U.S. will have on the future trajectory of Sino-U.S. relations, if any. Due to the fact the world economy has been in a slump, with the U.S. at it’s center struggling to recover, […]
It has been eight years since the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCPs) first peaceful transfer of power, an act which heralded Hu Jintao’s ascension to China’s highest positions of power. Xi Jinping Once again China embarks on a change of helmsmen. On October 18th of this year, Mr. Xi Jingping (习近平)was selected for the position of […]
There are all sorts of prognoses for what’s going to happen in a couple of weeks at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP15). Some are calling this the most important international meeting of minds since the Bretton Woods and San Francisco conferences created much of the political architecture for the postwar […]
This year’s annual World Leadership Forum from the Foreign Policy Association was keynoted by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He gave a fascinating speech calling on the US to resume its leadership in the world and to be supported in this by “…a new ‘driving centre’ of global politics and the global economy – a […]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon organized a truly historic event today: the Summit on Climate Change. President Obama was among the many speakers. Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, and one of the critical voices within the Obama Administration for a robust and progressive approach to meeting the challenge of climate […]
I wrote last month about some exciting activities coming up, including the Brita Climate Ride. In Washington this week, the State Department is hosting meetings of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF). (See my posts related to the MEF.) US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern is leading the US delegation. […]