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The article presents the "Position Paper of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Matter of Jurisdiction in the South China Sea Arbitration Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines," as of September 2016. Topics include a lawsuit filed by Philippines against China under the e United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; and significance of the arbitration in terms of the territorial sovereignty over several maritime features in the South China Sea.

This research note discusses the 2009 Defence White Paper, particularly its focus on the potential threat the Chinese military might pose to the security of the Asia-Pacific in the foreseeable future. It also examines Chinese responses to the White Paper's main theses. It concludes that the White Paper marked a departure from the Howard government's policy of de-emphasising differences in Canberra's dialogue with Beijing and, by re-affirming commitment to the alliance with the United States (US), delineated the limits of Australia's partnership with China. However, its poorly substantiated predictions regarding the rise of China's power, the US economic and military decline and Beijing's geostrategic objectives raise doubts about the Rudd government's capacity to formulate a coherent vision for the future of Australia's relations with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been much talk in recent years about an emerging EU-China axis that challenges the United States in a new strategic triangle. The EU-China strategic partnership, which was declared in 2003, suggests that both sides are gaining global influence as a new kind of superpower that seeks to avoid the bloody conflict that characterized the Cold War. Rather than discuss the contours of this new geopolitical axis, this essay argues that EU-China relations are shifting the meaning of security in an emerging arena of global symbolic politics. It analyzes the symbolic politics of EU-China relations through a close reading of two sets of documents: (1) official policy papers from the European Commission and the PRC's State Council, and (2) European think-tank working papers on China policy. It argues that these documents write the narrative of EU-China relations in ways that limit discussion to a specific narrow range of topics. After outlining Europe's approach to the rise of China, it examines how language politics guides China's engagement with the EU. Then it explores how European think tanks follow the concept of 'Europeanization' to frame both how the EU seeks to transform China, and how China policy can help transform the EU. This shows how the rhetorical form of often ambiguous official pronouncements is key in the construction of the content of EU-China relations. The essay concludes that although EU-China relations are getting stronger, predictions of an EU-China axis are over-blown in the sense of being an action to be completed sometime in the indefinite future - 'future imperfect'. Yet while EU-China relations are unlikely to construct a shared sense of a Eurasian self, the major legacy of recent EU-China ties is likely to be found in the negative identity politics of creating the US as the shared Other. This new global symbolic politics will have a serious impact on the US's concrete relations with China and the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationalization is the major aim of most Chinese academic journals in their development frameworks to attract a sufficient amount of high quality contributions. This study used Scopus to conduct a bibliometrics analysis of the present international influence of Chinese pharmaceutical journals using multiple indicators including SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) scores, the number of foreign contributions, and the number of citations by foreign author, affiliation, and journal. Five representative titles were selected including Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, Yaoxue Xuebao, Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal, Zhongguo Zhongyao Zazhi, and Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines. Results show that the present international influence of most Chinese pharmaceutical journals still remains unsatisfactory and is characterized by few foreign manuscript contributions, low SJR scores, and narrow international citations. The Chinese government has been making great efforts to boost pharmaceutical development, which provides an unprecedented chance for Chinese pharmaceutical journals to promote their international influence and reputations. Multiple approaches have been proposed based on the successful experiences of some Chinese journals with well established international reputations including constructing an international editorial board, cooperating with international and prestigious publishing groups, creating an international peer review process, and expanding international readerships. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

On January 23, 2013 the Philippines alerted the international community that it had initiated a case against China in to help resolve the dispute regarding China's continuing move into the South China Sea. The body set to hear the case against China is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China's response was presented in a scathing 93-point rebuke of the Philippines. China claims that the Philippines has not followed proper channels in trying to resolve territorial disputes, and China remains willing to discuss this at a bilateral level. For their part, Philippine officials claim that China is bullying its way into hegemonic control of the South China Sea. This paper presents a contextual understanding of the current situation with an eye toward history as a way through this potential geopolitical crisis. Based on precedent in the area and in world history, I argue in this paper that the Philippine government's reliance on the UNCLOS to arbitrate with China in the South China Sea is a gamble that will result in greater harm than good for the region. The limited options in how to respond to China should recalibrate how the Philippines should diplomatically move forward with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electrotehnica, Electronica, Automatica is the property of ICPE SA (Editura Electra) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Control over access to the Indian Ocean is often seen through a highly securitised lens. Strategic actors have long sought to use geographical constraints to maintain the region as a relatively enclosed strategic space. It has only a few narrow maritime entrance points and the littoral is not well connected to the interior of the Eurasian continent. These factors have contributed to the historical domination of the Indian Ocean by a succession of extra-regional maritime powers and the virtual exclusion of Eurasian land powers such as China and Russia. This paper considers how the physical geography of the Indian Ocean has contributed to its control by some powers and the exclusion of others. It then discusses China’s Maritime Silk Route/One Belt One Road initiative, which includes growing interests in Indian Ocean ports and plans to build new overland pathways to connect China with the Indian Ocean. The paper concludes that while China’s growing maritime interests in Indian Ocean are strategically important, it is the new overland routes connecting the Eurasian hinterland with the ocean that have the potential to change the entire geostrategic character of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper applies the model of Revealed Comparative Advantages (RCA) developed by Bela Balassa, uses data from UN COMTRADE database, and calculates RCA index for 7 broad industry sectors and 28 industries (at more detailed level) for both Romania and China. Based on the RCA indices, the paper further analysis what are the industries with more advantages in Romania and in China. Starting from the results of the comparative analysis, the article tries to derive some conclusions for future China-Romania cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is considered as a significant development partner in Nigeria; yet relations between the two countries have been marked by episodes of oscillations. This paper engages three interconnected questions: (i) What is the history of Sino-Nigeria relations? (ii) How has Nigeria’s political elites and ordinary Nigerians reacted to Chinese presence? (iii) To what extent is Sino-Nigeria relations beneficial to Nigeria? This paper while identifying and discussing the benefits and underbellies of Sino-Nigeria relations, draws attention to aspects of the relations less discussed in the literature. It concludes that beyond the more popular yet simplistic Janus-headed explication of Sino-Nigeria relations as positive or negative, significant focus is needed to understand the instabilities capable of impacting on the developmental potential of China in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy & Peace is the property of Ihsan Dogramaci Peace Foundation, Center for Foreign Policy & Peace Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the foreign policy priorities and concerns of the People's Republic of China as expressed by that nation's official international, English language publication, China Daily. The paper argues that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, the official Chinese press can be a useful tool in assessing Chinese foreign policy priorities as result of its propaganda function. Within this paradigm, it finds that China's primary foreign policy priorities are sovereignty and territorial integrity and that China considers itself primarily a regional rather than a global power. It concludes that China's foreign policy is driven by pragmatism rather than ideology because of China's domestic project of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper situates Canada–China relations in the context of recent internet developments and debates about information and communication technologies (ICTs) infrastructure. I argue that protest events in Hong Kong surrounding the #occupycentral movement help us understand the tension between internet access, technological innovation and state centric forms of internet governance. By foregrounding the tension between the horizontal exchange of ideas and national surveillance and control, it is possible to identify important similarities between Canadian and Chinese state and the experience of internet users. In the wake of the Hong Kong occupy protests, it is possible to see how the internet promotes the practices of ‘Other Diplomacies’, functional relationships between citizen, market and foreign actors that present challenges for national regulation and traditional diplomatic mechanisms. The paper proposes a revival of the concept of Cyber-Diplomacy to better explain the challenges of state-to-state relations in an era of ICT innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent years have seen a revival of discussions on American decline. This paper intervenes in this debate by suggesting that there is a tendency towards partial conceptualisations of US power. It suggests a new historical materialist perspective that makes it possible to theorise American Empire as a relational social totality embedded within global capitalism. The paper then analyses the social limits of China’s rise and the integration of East Asian regionalisation into American Empire, suggesting the extent to which world power has shifted east has tended to be overestimated. It also analyses the emergence of Brazil, India, and the BRICS meetings, suggesting these developments have a limited, but overstated, capacity to challenge American Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aims of this paper are threefold: to provide some historical background on ethnic separatism in the PRC; to identify the causes of ethnic separatism; and to provide an assessment of the current separatist challenges to the PRC and their implications for China's domestic politics and foreign relations. The paper demonstrates that the nature and scale of the challenge posed by any one ethnic minority to the PRC is largely a function of three major factors: the historical relationship between the ethnic group and the Chinese state; the geographic concentration of the ethnic minority; and the degree of acculturation to the dominant Han society. In this regard the paper identifies Xinjiang and Tibet as the ethnic minority regions that pose the most enduring separatist challenge to Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why does the EU–China partnership encounter so many problems? What are the causes of these problems? Can they be overcome? What kind of partners are the EU and China? Can the partnership be maintained despite the increasing problems? To answer these questions, the paper will first look at the differences between the EU and China in terms of history, economic development levels, their nation-building trajectories, and their understandings on some key concepts such as sovereignty. In the second section, the paper will then study their strategic visions, economic and trade cooperation, and climate change policies. It will then analyze the challenges in EU–China relations. While there is no doubt that both sides wish for stable bilateral cooperation, the different interests in many areas may interrupt development in one way or another. It is not easy for a genuine partnership to be established between the two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Científica General José María Córdova is the property of Escuela Militar de Cadetes General Jose Maria Cordova and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this paper is to analyze Brazil/China trade relations over the twenty-first century, highlighting the performance and composition of exports and imports, as well as developments in the relative importance of China for Brazil in this field. Assuming this trade relationship as an important part of a strategic partnership of these countries, the main conclusions are: (a) there was a significant increase in the Brazil/China trade in the period, which substantially raised China's relative share in the Brazilian foreign trade; (b) despite of this feature, the dynamics of the evolution of exports is fundamentally different from that presented by imports, which requires greater Brazilian assessment for managing the commercial policy of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No theory seems to describe accurately and explain competently the new, unusual, and idiosyncratic Northeast Asian regional order phenomenon. It is because Northeast Asian specialists like the blind men have seen only one of the parts of the ‘Elephant’ or a part of what is taking place in Northeast Asia. This paper attempts to employ a new, more appropriate, more productive analytical tool to understand and navigate efficiently the Northeast Asian regional order. The main objective of this paper is ‘the rise of China and Northeast Asian regional order’, what it is and what is taking place in the empirical world when we say that something we call ‘the rise of China and Northeast Asian regional order’ is taking place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper challenges dominant understandings of 'rising powers' by developing a decentred, relational account of Russia and China in Central Asia. We ask whether Moscow and Beijing's regional integrative strategies do not guide, but rather are led by, everyday interactions among Russian and Chinese actors, and local actors in Central Asia. Rising powers, as a derivative of 'Great Powers', are frequently portrayed as structurally comparable units that concentrate power in their executives, fetishise territorial sovereignty, recruit client states, contest regional hegemony and explicitly oppose the post-1945 international order. In contrast, we demonstrate that the centred discourse of Eurasian integration promoted by Russian and Chinese leaders is decentred by networks of business and political elites, especially with regard to capital accumulation. Adopting Homi K. Bhabha's notion of mimicry (subversion, hybridity) and J. C. Scott's conception of mētis (local knowledge, agency), and using examples of Russian and Chinese investments and infrastructure projects in Central Asia, we argue that in order to understand centring discourse we must look to decentring practices at the periphery; that is, rising power is produced through ongoing interactions between actors at the margins of the state's hegemonic reach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the asymmetric dilemma facing the Philippines and China in the South China Sea tensions. Among American East Asian allies, the Philippines seems to stand on the frontline between two rival powers, the United States and China. Since the US declared its Pivot to Asia policy, the Philippines' foreign policy towards China has become assertive and sometimes appears reckless with some military adventures against Chinese maritime patrols and naval ships, which also further forced China to take a tougher foreign policy against the Philippines. Considering the distinctive asymmetric indicators between China and the Philippines based on military forces, economic capacity, territorial size, and population, the aggressive policy behaviors that the Philippines and China have been displaying against each other cast an inquiry on what drives the two countries into head-to-head collision. While China as the larger power vis-à-vis the Philippines as the smaller power in the relationship has aimed for control and domination of their disputed territory, the Philippines' drastic defiance has also led to China's irritation and possible frustration. Furthermore, the US' renewed attention to Asia has caused shifts of asymmetric bilateral dilemma to triangular entanglement between the US-China-Philippines. It is vital therefore to pay attention to the asymmetric interaction of states and their varying views in order to find possible solutions to the SCS tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow moving conflict in the South China Sea has been characterized by some as “not worth the candle.” China claims the entirety of the South China Sea pursuant to a nine-dash line, the legal impact of which has been limited by international courts. At the same time, China has changed the reality of control over the South China Sea by building a number of fortified islands in the Spratly Islands and elsewhere. The US has either refused to stand up to China's behavior (Obama) or responded unevenly (Trump). This paper examines the impact of China's behaviour on local parties, US interests, and the liberal international system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares and analyses China’s and Japan’s foreign policies with regard to the newly emerging Central Asian (CA) states based on the role that each country attributes to that region, including political cooperation, economic interaction, security, public perception and mutual relevance. It demonstrates that in some respects, the interests of China and Japan in CA are similar, as exemplified by their focus on mineral resources and political stability. However, these countries differ in their approaches and strategies there: China is inclined to follow pragmatic approaches, whereas Japan’s policy is a mixture of idealistic and pragmatic perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is growing Turkish interest in the BRICS, and an ever-growing positive public perception of them. Criticism is rare, as the BRICS are interpreted as an important alternative direction in pursuit of global prestige and a new role for Turkey. Although, there is yet to be a well-defined official strategy, Ankara is interested in increasing its relationship with the BRICS. This paper aims to analyze three intertwined questions that intrude upon the putative relationship: What does “the BRICS” mean? A study of Turkey's position vis-à-vis the BRICS requires an analysis of the latter in terms of their nature, evolution and vision. What are the similarities and differences between Turkey and the BRICS? Is Turkey already a BRICS country? Or, is Turkey only eligible for BRICS membership? What are the pros and cons of a possible Turkish membership of the BRICS consortium? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Enlargement fatigue has descended upon the European Union (EU) institutions, which remain focused on resolving the Brexit crisis and ongoing internal reforms. This multi-faceted phenomenon has directly caused the so-called accession fatigue in potential EU members, which are increasingly turning to other geopolitical alternatives. Russia and China are the new dominant powerbrokers in the EU's immediate neighbourhood, courting political and business elites in EU candidate states and offering an alternative foreign policy option which contrasts with the stalled EU enlargement process. This paper discusses the rise of these external powers in the EU's immediate neighbourhood, suggesting three scenarios for the future of the Balkan region where the EU, Russia and China are more vigorously vying for influence than ever before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks into one of the most promising low carbon city planning initiatives in China, namely Shenzhen's International Low Carbon City (ILCC). First as a collaborative project between the Dutch and Chinese partners, the ILCC's international partners have expanded to include other countries, such as Germany, Italy, France, Australia and the US. This paper investigates the influence of these international actors in the development process of the ILCC and their benefits in the long run, through knowledge transfer and accumulation of resource. The paper first highlights a broad understanding of ‘low carbon city’ followed by detailed discussions on discourses of ‘low carbon city’, ‘eco-city’, and ‘low carbon eco-city’ in China. Then it provides insights on knowledge transfer in low carbon city development, and particularly the Sino-Foreign cases of China. The authors then introduce the case of study (ILCC) and highlight its visions, project planning, and partnerships. Using primary and secondary data, it then maps the ILCC's international actors and their roles, and then analyses their behaviours and impacts in the project's planning and development process. Next, the paper summarises the research findings with further updates on the case of ILCC. The authors conclude that the engagement between Chinese and international partners differ in three forms and they are (1) the type of involvement; (2) the level and timeframe of involvement; (3) the level of Influence in the project's multiple stages. The paper concludes that the role played by an international partner evolves as the project proceeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When external eyes turned to China 30 years ago (if they did at all), the focus was still on the extent to which it might be breaking away from its socialist economic past. And though we did not know it at the time, intra-elite debates over how far (and to where) reforms should go would eventually play some part in shaping what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989; events that would place China on the verge of international isolation. This paper traces the evolution from isolation to a position where some in China now think it is now second only to the USA in the ranking of world powers. It will focus on how scholarship on China in the journal has changed over the years, but also on some of the constants and recurring questions and issues that have inspired research over the years. In addition, notwithstanding a very real and very large shift in China's global power capabilities, it will suggest that asking if China matters, or more correctly, how China matters in different issue areas, remains a very useful intellectual exercise today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the context of the rise of China, Southeast Asian countries and Australia have begun shifting towards an accommodation policy. Robert Ross examines the accommodation policy in South Korea, Mochizuki discusses Japanese accommodationists, and Manicom and O'Neil show some evidence of Australian accommodation of Chinese strategic preferences. The scholarship has, however, narrowly focused on and overestimated the role of security. Through a study of the origin, process, structural conditions and impacts of accommodation policy, this paper broadens the concept of accommodation to capture its multiple meanings and practices. It finds that a selective accommodation policy and strategy toward the rise of China developed in Australia is a sign of the changing power relations under which the mainstream paradigms of containment and engagement, hard balancing or bandwagoning, have proved inadequate to the task of dealing with China, and that economic interdependence has driven the politics of accommodation in Australia and several Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses China's recent engagement with Zambia, examining especially Chinese hiring practices, methods of business organisation and the labour conditions maintained by Chinese-operated construction and mining firms. Moving beyond existing analyses which remain focused solely on Chinese trade, aid and investment, this study begins to explore the micro-level of Chinese ventures, arguing that the continued employment of co-nationals as well as the generally substandard labour conditions maintained by Chinese firms lead to the offloading of Zambian workers into the country's burgeoning informal economy. There, newly emerged Chinese businesses stand to threaten local entrepreneurs who lack the resources necessary to parry Chinese competition. The result is a rapidly growing national unemployment rate and an increasing number of Zambians left struggling to sustain their livelihoods. This paper further argues that the characteristics defining China's engagement with Zambia are not particular to the Zambian context alone, but are rather abiding characteristics of overseas Chinese businesses in general. The paper ultimately calls for a policy framework regulating Chinese business activities in Zambia, lest the negative consequences of the Sino-Zambian partnership prevail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the conventional wisdom that Chinese involvement cannot transform Africa’s economy for the better so as to end much of the poverty and also to spark high speed growth, this paper finds that China is already in the process of transforming Africa. While the conventional wisdom sees corrupt regimes and weak state capacity in Africa frittering away Africa’s opportunity to rise by plugging into Chinese dynamism, China is found in this paper already to be exporting entrepreneurial talent to Africa and to be dynamizing the African economy through East Asian practices. Chinese can bring industry to Africa much as Japan brought it to Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. Africa could therefore be incorporated into Asian economic dynamism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's agricultural biotechnology policy has undergone a profound transformation over the last decade, from a strongly promotional to a more precautionary approach. From the 1980s onwards, China invested heavily in biotechnology development and in the early 1990s emerged as the leading biotech country in the developing world. In the late 1990s, however, it halted the authorization of new genetically modified crops and introduced stringent safety regulations. This paper investigates this policy shift and argues that international factors have played a central role. Two trends, in particular, are identified as key sources of the move towards greater precaution: China's ongoing international socialization, particularly in the context of the international scientific debate on biosafety and the negotiations on a biosafety treaty; and the growing globalization of agriculture and trade, which has exposed China to international competitive forces and trade restrictions in food trade. As the case of genetically modified food in China shows, political integration and economic globalization can work together to promote a strengthening of the domestic environmental policy agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly reviews the economic performance of China's economic reform starting in 1978, and which it presents personal views on the experiences of Korea's economic development and lessons for China's economic reform. The paper reviews the China-Korea economic relationship, and explores both the opportunities of China's economic development for Korea and the prospects for Bilateral Economic cooperation. It is estimated that the Chinese economy will maintain dynamic growth for the coming decade. The 2008 Olympic Games and the 2010 World Expo in China will provide further impetuses for Chinese economic development. China's huge market and its rapid economic growth can help the further recovery and development of the Korean economy. At the same time, the further development of the Chinese economy can benefit from financial, technical and managerial support from Korea. The complementarities between the industrial structures of China and Korea will surely push their future economic cooperation into a broader and deeper stage. Bilateral trade will enhance the competitiveness of both nations in the global market and help them achieve mutual prosperity and development. (Edited by Xinyu Fan) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing number of actors involved in China's international activities has led to fractured authority in foreign policy decision-making. Actors vie for the attention of senior officials to promote their interests on any specific issue. As a result, decision making is often a slow process; there are multiple channels of information, and actors appeal to public opinion to support their claims. Since 2012, Xi Jinping has taken charge of all foreign policy related decision-making bodies in what appears to be an attempt to improve coordination of interest groups. A slight shift to a more personified foreign policy than during the Hu or Jiang eras has also taken place. In this paper, we describe how foreign policy decisions should be made in China according to formal rules; next, we take into account the reality of how the Chinese political system deals with China's evolving international role. We conclude by assessing the risks of fragmentation, on the one hand, and Xi's efforts to recentralise foreign policy, on the other hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the effects of the 2008 New Zealand (NZ)–China free trade agreement (FTA) on exports from NZ to China, and real GDP per capita in NZ using the synthetic control method to estimate the counterfactuals. NZ exports to China were more than 200% higher in 2014 than what they would have had the FTA never been signed. NZ's food and live animals exports to China were more than 180% higher in 2014 than the counterfactual. Our counterfactuals indicate a small but negative effect of the FTA on NZ's real GDP per capita between 2009 and 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of PRC leaders' public communication with respect to Taiwan from 2003 to 2013 shows the presence of three conflict frames: aspiration, process and image. Chinese leaders most often use the process frame to convey the preferred process through which both sides could find a common ground. These messages are reinforced by rhetoric about China's capacity, resolve and sincerity to reach out to Taiwan for peaceful solutions. Communication of China's own aspirations of national unification is usually less visible. However, it becomes more prominent when the Taiwanese are not the intended audience, indicating its utility in rallying internal support. Using these frames as broad parameters, the paper discusses how they may have influenced policy actions toward Taiwan in the early days of the Xi administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this review essay is to expand the concept ofPauk-Phawbeyond the conventional Western international relations discourse of realism, liberalism, and constructivism.Pauk-Phawis a Burmese term meaning kinsfolk assigned specifically to describe the asymmetrical relationship between China and Myanmar. This paper argues that for China, whose traditional world-view was based on a Sino-centric tributary system, the strategic culture of the country is still relevant in exploring the foreign policy options available to the state that do not necessarily fit into existing Western international relations literatures.Pauk-Phaw, as a dialectic tool to examine state-to-state relations embedded in Confucian culture, may represent an epistemological break from conventional Western traditions, and therefore may hold promise to enhance the understanding of how China and its former tributary states conduct their relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As international pressure on China's policy concerning its increasing investments in Iran grows, the Chinese leadership has to painfully balance its impulse toward energy and economic cooperation with Iran against other important interests, including enhancing its image as a responsible big country. After analyzing the evolution of China–Iran energy relations, this paper tries to answer the question of how China has responded to the intensification of US-led sanctions against Iran, what merits and shortcomings China's attempts to balance or reconcile its interests in Iran might create, and what options China can take to deal with a possible oil crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aftermath of Kim Jong-Il's death in December 2011, China clearly wanted a more cooperative new North Korean regime which would help stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The Kim Jong-Il regime had been a political liability and economic burden to China, as it defied the international community by perpetrating numerous provocations and crises. In order to avert a major conflict on the Korean Peninsula, Beijing had to bail out the Kim Jong-Il regime by defusing the crises created by North Korea's saber-rattling behavior and brinkmanship. Clearly, China did not want to repeat or endure a similar relationship with the new North Korean regime under Kim Jong-Un. This article seeks to examine China's policy toward the Kim Jong-Un regime from December 2011 to the present. In spite of initial optimism, Beijing has been disappointed by the Kim Jong-Un regime's defiant actions, such as the two ballistic missile tests in 2012 and the third nuclear test in February 2013. These developments inevitably raise serious doubts about China's ability to rein in the belligerent Kim Jong-Un regime. It is a major contention of this paper that it will be difficult for China to "tame" the Kim regime unless China is willing to reset its diplomatic priorities from seeking to prevent the collapse of Kim's regime to halting North Korea's provocations that may ignite a major conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The surest way to achieve this change will be through the effective utilization of economic sanctions to enhance the efficacy of the diplomatic measures on which it has relied too long and too single-mindedly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's comprehensive national power grows, its efforts to reduce the 'China threat' perception have become more challenging. In line with the Chinese leadership's current theme of peace and harmony in China's foreign policy line, Chinese scholars have been highlighting the same theme in their research on China's traditional strategic culture. Their research criticizes Western cosmopolitanism and praises the peaceful nature of China's traditional 'tianxia' concept. The exploitation of traditional strategic culture to provide re-assurance to the international community has now been raised to the official level, as reflected by the White Paper on 'China's Peaceful Development' released by the State Council's Information Office on September 6, 2011. This probably means that it will be a major element of China's public diplomacy for the foreseeable future. These efforts, however, may not have a significant impact because of rising nationalism in the region and the moderate escalation of existing territorial disputes involving China and its neighbors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an empirically grounded assessment of China's increasing role in the African mediasphere. It examines the strategic importance of Chinese media assistance to Ghana along three dimensions: the potential appeal of the Chinese approach to information regulation for countries struggling to balance development and risks to political stability; the direct intervention of Chinese companies in the media and telecommunication sectors through the provision of loans, equipment and technical expertise; and the stepping up of China's public diplomacy strategy through the expansion of international broadcasters and the increase of exchange and training programs targeting African citizens. The study is based on fieldwork conducted by the authors in Ghana, and on the analysis of semi-structured interviews with Ghanaian journalists, policymakers, journalism educators, civil society players and Chinese journalists and media entrepreneurs in Ghana. Problematising the alarmist scholarship that suggests a strategic Chinese invasion of Africa and the potential reversal of media freedoms, the study indicates that the Chinese presence in Ghana seems to be grounded in a more pragmatic and less uniform approach anchored on mutual interests. It concludes by suggesting the need for a shift in the debate that tends to be polarised by images of China as either a neo-colonialist power or as a benevolent partner. To understand whether the Chinese approach to the media could have resonance beyond China, greater attention must be paid to how the ideology and political culture characterising individual African countries, as well as the elites who establish partnerships with Chinese political leaders and companies, resonate with the Chinese approach to governance and the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has re-emerged to become a dominant foreign player in Cambodia. Politically, Cambodia is one of China's oldest and closest allies. Economically, China is Cambodia's top foreign investor, a major donor, and an increasingly important trading partner. Culturally, Chinese values are deeply embedded in many aspects of Cambodian society. However, China's dominance is surrounded by renewed controversies. While the government warmly welcomes Chinese aid, saying that it comes with no strings attached, many experts are concerned that China is providing aid for more nefarious reasons. Critics also accuse Chinese investment and aid of having exacerbated corruption, weakened governance and harmed human rights, and of ruining Cambodia's natural resources and environment. With such controversies, it is relevant and significant to assess the roles that China has played and continues to play in Cambodia's socio-economic development. Using expert interviews, media analysis and an extensive literature review, this paper uniquely contributes to the existing discussion on China-Cambodia relations by closely examining the controversies of China's investment and aid, critically analysing China's interests in Cambodia, and asking if the relationship between the two nations is a positive-sum game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China and the United States are the greatest strategic powers of the world today, where China is rising but the United States still remains predominant. Both have their grand strategic visions to shape and manage the world or regional political and security architecture. South Asia, being located in a critical and important geographical area, with players such as India, Pakistan, and others, is factored in their visions. It gives rise to a different combination of alignments and orientations of the states of South Asia and beyond. A kind of power game, along with its tangible manifestations, also seems conspicuous. This paper attempts to develop a broad framework of such developments, along with ramifications, both in place and projected, in the political power games of the relevant actors in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]