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We use the 2015 Chinese stock market crash to study the effects of government stock purchases. The Chinese government purchased stocks to stabilize the markets through state-owned financial institutions known as the "National Team." We find that the intervention led to reduced volatility and price informativeness. These impacts are driven by the disclosure of government portfolios. Consistent with investors having a stronger incentive to acquire government intervention information instead of fundamental news, we find reduced information production and information asymmetry following intervention disclosure. The article suggests that government stock purchases involve a trade-off between stability and informational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As one of the world's most important economies, China has faced the problems and challenges caused by geopolitical changes, the consequences of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, financial crises and other challenges in the last decade to the fullest extent. An overview of previous research studies shows the effects of partial elements of economic freedom on the financial performance of China's development. The focus of our research is on a strategic approach to the given problem, taking into account the possibility of modeling and improving the situation in response to new challenges and problems in the future. Purpose: The focus of the work is aimed at measuring the impact of economic freedoms on foreign direct investment decisions and the financial performance of China's development. Based on that, the main goal of the work is to model and determine new elements for improving the model based on a strategic approach. Study design: The research revealed that a strategic approach through the elements of economic freedom is an important factor of the model we investigated and represents the improvement of the situation and can contribute to the improvement of the financial performance of China's development. Findings: Based on the research, we obtained the result of a high degree of direct dependence and a positive correlation of the impact of economic freedom and strategic decisions on foreign direct investment on the financial performance of China's development. Economic freedoms represent a significant influencing factor and provide opportunities for the improvement of a model based on a strategic approach. Limitations: The limitations of the research refer to the unpredictable state of geopolitical changes in the world, which directly reflect on many factors of the model. Future research directions can be directed towards measuring which countries make up the largest part of China's foreign direct investments, as well as how much their influence is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the continuity and adaptation of China's Communist Party's reliance on incarceration, particularly the laogai (reform through labor) system, as a means of political repression and profit. It highlights the widespread abuses in the laogai camps, the use of unpaid labor for economic development, and the international implications of trading in products produced by prisoners.

The article presents a study on how the stock market was affected by China's convergence to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2007. It looks at how Chinese stock markets reacted favorable to events prior to the IFRS convergence with particular attention given to firms wither greater dependence on external capital.

This paper studies China's recent exchange rate policy for the renminbi (RMB). We demonstrate empirically that a two‐pillar policy is in place, aiming to balance exchange rate flexibility and RMB index stability via market and basket pillars. We further extend and validate the formulation that incorporates the so‐called countercyclical factor. Theoretically, we develop a flexible‐price monetary model for the RMB in which the two‐pillar policy arises endogenously as an optimal response of the government. We estimate the model by generalized method of moments and quantitatively assess various policy trade‐offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s moves to introduce a Circular Economy have attracted wide attention as a solution to severe problems of resource inefficiency and lack of resource productivity. This article highlights the distinctive strategy of focusing such efforts on existing industrial parks, turning them into eco-industrial parks. It provides three case studies and highlights the management issues involved as overcoming reverse salients and capturing network advantages. China is an especially instructive case because it starts well behind the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and thereby has much to gain by adopting comprehensive policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sino-phobia, which has reportedly grown internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a potential obstacle to China's economic and foreign policy initiatives involving Russia and Central Asia. After providing historical and theoretical context, the authors analyse publicly reported time-series data from Russia and original survey data from Russia and Kyrgyzstan to assess the extent of Sino-phobic attitudes and their associations with demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic variables. By also considering attitudes toward Americans and other national groups, the authors show that anti-Chinese sentiment, while high, does not exhibit especially pronounced tendencies. In Russia, nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment are key correlates of Sino-phobia. Additional survey research is necessary to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Sino-phobia and determine whether it hinders China-friendly policies, as some observers have suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite persistent skepticism towards the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), many countries have signed on to the program and even more countries have come to believe in its transformative potential to development finance and the global order. How has the illiberal Chinese government succeeded in convincing the world, particularly the Global South, about its commitment and BRI's future success? Exploring the credibility puzzle, this article argues that the Xi Jinping administration has relied on an all-in strategy tying the BRI to China's national development and foreign policy, promoting the BRI through select international institutions, and launching a series of flagship mega-projects. With mounting sustainability challenges on both economic and geopolitical fronts, however, the BRI now has to scale back its ambitions while China reevaluates its strategic opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been characterised as a large-scale initiative to boost the movement of goods and services, capital, and people from China to Southeast Asia and beyond. Transport and logistics are a key aspect of this enterprise, with many projects focussing on railways, road networks, and ports receiving priority attention. However, BRI-related initiatives are often cast in unitary terms, with agency and autonomy almost uniquely ascribed to China-based firms and funders, and very little attributed to host country agents or their interests. Since 2013, Malaysia has received substantial inflows of BRI-related funds for infrastructure, particularly railways and ports. The Kuantan Port Expansion on Peninsular Malaysia's East Coast and the Melaka Gateway on its West Coast are two port-centred development projects associated with the BRI. Begun at the same time, these initiatives are similarly structured, as joint ventures linking large China-based state-owned enterprises with local players. Despite their similarities, these two projects have followed vastly different trajectories. While the Kuantan Port Expansion is proceeding according to schedule, the Melaka Gateway lies mired in delays and controversy. Through comparing and contrasting these two projects, this article will explore how – despite China's financial and political influence – host country actors can and do oppose, subvert, and even veto infrastructure initiatives perceived as inimical to their interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this article is to contribute to the literature on land issues, especially with regard to the evolutionary theory of China's rural land property rights. This article applies the Demsetz's evolutionary theory of property rights as a framework into an analysis of the evolutionary process of property rights in rural land of China. It is found that externality, compactness, productivity, and organizational complexity--four principles in Demsetz's framework--are at the core of understanding the evolution of property rights from collective control of land to family based control of land in China. However, the framework is incomplete due to being unlikely to notice the role of land titling so that a property rights game is developed in this article to extend the evolutionary theory of property rights. Importantly, it suggests the necessity of "split-rights" from family based control land to private control land in China. To sum up, this paper refreshes the dominant framework of analysis on the evolution of property rights in mainstream economics, and makes it discern when collective ownership does not evolve into pure privatization, finally, instead of into private control of land, as is currently applied to rural area in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese authority intends to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) as a new engine to sustain Chinese development. By applying the theories of state rescaling and city-cluster formation, this paper intends to conduct a case study of the GBA to examine the state-initiated plan for city-cluster formation in China, to analyse the Chinese central and local governments' efforts to put this plan into action and the hurdles they face in formatting this city-cluster. The formulation of the GBA development plan for integrated development reflects a dynamic process of upscaling and downscaling of various levels of state power. The state's plan for the GBA is to create a world-class city-cluster, and to eliminate barriers that hinder the free flow of goods and resources. Nevertheless, it will be challenging for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, which fall under different administrative regions and customs zones, to achieve the level of collaboration and functioning required for integrated development of the GBA. The fierce competition for dominance among these core cities could jeopardise efforts to forge closer economic integration in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's plan to establish a social credit system (SCS) has aroused the concern of building a surveillance state. Yet this view oversimplifies and misunderstands the essence of the SCS. The highest priorities of the SCS are promoting economic credibility and reinforcing court orders. Meanwhile, the SCS aims to steer citizens' social behaviors and interactions by utilizing a redlist system that introduces numerous moderate rewards. The SCS is also more lax in execution than in planning. It reflects a unique Chinese understanding of law, which treats law as a moral guide. This article also acknowledges the concerns for the SCS. Without actively preventing positive and negative invasions in the construction of the project, the SCS authorities will risk creating further mistrust in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization in China has triggered the mass migration of rural populations to cities. These policies have resulted in a shortage of construction land for the urban population and in an inefficient use of rural homestead, causing a tremendous waste of rural land resources. Rural homestead transfer has been identified as a tool to solve this problem: the saved construction land can be reclaimed to cultivated land, and the construction rights are transferred to urban areas, where they can be used to build new households for the demanding population. We consider that transaction costs analysis can help understand the governance structures of the homestead processes, and provide avenues for further research and policy recommendations. Our article draws on the practices and experiences gained in three areas in rural China (Jinzhai, Yiwu, and Jiangning in the Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu Provinces, China). Based on the empirical cases and information produced from the villages and households survey, we developed an analytical framework of transaction cost. Results suggest that Yiwu has lower assets specificity, lower uncertainty, and transaction frequency, hence the market driven model played a major role. In Jinzhai, which presents higher assets specificity, higher uncertainty, and transaction frequency, the government-oriented model also played a major role. In Jiangning, where most transaction attributes are situated in the middle, the mixed-oriented model acted as a main role in the local area. Our conclusion shows that various governance structures are appropriate for different areas of rural China, which is significantly related to the local transaction attributes. We suggest promoting the governance structure which corresponds to the local resource endowment, human and residential condition, the cultural atmosphere, and also the institutional (official) atmosphere. Matched with the government or/and market governance structure, it may develop the resource allocation efficiency and improve economic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, China's rapid economic growth has become a hot topic for politicians and intellectuals in Iran. Iranian views on China and its development model are ambiguous and contradictory, despite exponential growth in trade between the two countries. Three broad views have emerged in Iran about the Chinese way of progress. The pragmatic moderates advocate rapid economic development while keeping tight political control, which is broadly known as the China model. Two other political factions have ambivalent views on China. Hardliners focus on the Islamic‐Iranian Model of Progress but also admire some aspects of China's policies, especially its opposition to unilateralism in international affairs. Political reforms and social freedom are central to reformists' views. On this ground, reformists are uncomfortable with the China model. During the Covid‐19 pandemic, China's aid diplomacy in Iran and critical remarks by an Iranian health authority about China provided a pretext for a more open debate about Sino–Iranian relations, in general, and the China model, in particular. The range of views expressed on the matter confirms our assessment that there is a wide gap between political camps in relation to the applicability of the China model to Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Covid‐19 pandemic, China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in the Middle East first struggled but soon stabilized. This article studies the why and how by examining the cases of Iraq and Syria to observe the ways China handled its international business operations in the time of Covid. Prior to that, despite international criticism and doubts, China's BRI had continued to thrive. In the Middle East and North Africa, China had been forming partnerships under BRI with many countries and sought to connect with national development plans such as Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, Kuwait's Vision 2035, and Qatar's Vision 2030. After the Covid‐19 outbreak in December 2019, in anticipation of a resultant global economic recession, China's economy experienced a 6.8 percent contraction in the first quarter of 2020. Recently, China reported 2.3 percent overall GDP growth in 2020 and an 18.3 percent growth spurt in the first quarter of 2021. These developments prompt one to ask, what impact has Covid‐19 had—or what effects will it have—on China's BRI projects in the Middle East? To search for an answer, this study zooms in to two of the hardest‐hit Arab countries: Iraq and Syria. Both represent an investment environment entirely different from those of the affluent Gulf Arab states. Throughout Covid‐19, Iraq and Syria have been facing insufficient public‐health facilities and a lack of medical equipment, on top of political instability and economic challenges. This study looks at how China managed its BRI operations in Iraq and Syria during this crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is an intellectually overwhelming paradox within development thinking. On the one hand, it is regarded as an economic powerhouse pushing forward decades of sustained growth, which even during major global crises, such as the Corona-epidemic and the 2008 Financial Crisis, bounced back with significant resilience. On the other hand, it appears burdened with all of the 'wrong' institutions: informal, insecure, and autocratic. This collection of papers posits that the paradox is no contradiction when understood through an alternative, theoretical lens: the function of institutions precedes form when trying to understand institutional performance. Thus, whether institutions are formal or informal, public or private, democratic or autocratic, is of secondary importance to the manner in which they function over time and space. To examine this hypothesis, known as the 'credibility thesis', the collection examines China's institutions that govern: 1) capital; 2) technology; 3) land, and; 4) labor; in effect, state-owned banks, collective firms, corporate law and securities, patents and intellectual property rights, environmental bans, and the civil registration or hukou system. In so doing, it not only falsifies the widely prevalent assumption that institutional form determines performance, but concurrently, validates the applicability of the credibility thesis over widely varying sectors and assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enduring paradox of China's remarkable economic growth is the lack of a well-established legal system. By drawing on the credibility thesis, this paper proposes that legal and economic reforms give rise to, and reinforce, the other and the market is underpinned by evolving institutions that are shaped by the expectations of the actors in the economy. It is thus not the form of institutions but their function that is more important in assessing institutional performance. A comparative examination of the USA at a similar stage of legal-institutional development to China provides support for an evolutionary, endogenous process. This institutional analysis will focus on key issues of economic legislation, such as corporate law, patent law and securities. Analyzing the relationship as complementary processes can help explain the paradox of strong economic growth within an under-developed system of law with potential, critical implications for institutional development in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) evolved from promotion of Eurasian connectivity into a catchall for Chinese foreign policy and infrastructure investments worldwide. Although usually portrayed as a top-down geopolitical project of the Chinese central government, this article argues the BRI is actually shaped by converging and diverging interests of a wide variety of actors within and outside China. In order to conceptualize the relational, contingent, and unstable emergence of the BRI in Latin America, the article emphasizes the process of co-production as a theoretical framework. It first analyzes how the BRI incorporated Latin America through policy and discourse analysis, then examines the multi-scalar and multi-sited co-production of Chinese-funded port and railroad infrastructures through interviews and public documents in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to investigate mutual impacts between China's global investment and maritime transportation system as a primary means for trading since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been launched. This study collected China's global investment data categorized by independent economy entities with featured data, including investment capital, industrial field, and the maritime flows generated from the previous study. The country-level mutual relations in the context of the BRI are formulated and investigated by data-driven geographical visualization methods. The test results reveal both the degree and tendency of China's initiative impacting the global investment and the possible patterns and inertial power of investment on a globally regional initiative, primarily focusing on the concerns and contributions of the maritime transportation system in promoting investment and the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how China's increased economic influence shapes its image among foreign audiences. Specifically, it examines the effect of trade relationship with China on the perception of China. A systematic analysis of the data from recent three waves of the Asia Barometer Survey (ABS) consistently shows that, at the country-level, trade exposure to China is associated with a less favorable public view of China. At the individual level, the authors find that trade exposure weakens the positive relationship between individuals' assessment of the domestic economic situation and their perception of China. Meanwhile, political factors such as individuals' political orientation and regime difference correlate with a negative image of China, and trade relationship cannot mitigate this "soft power deficit." In short, trade relationship does not help promote a positive image of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The People's Bank of China (PBC)has played an important role in China's sustained economic growth. Despite its limited formal independence, PBC has developed considerable de facto authority and autonomy, referered to here as central bank discretion (CBD). This article offers a detailed historical account of how PBChas gained growing CBD in areas such as monetary policy, financial stability, foreign exchange and financial regulation. It also analyzes the main underlying forces that have contributed to PBC's authority and autonomy.This study of CBD in China seeks to enrich the existing literature on the political economy of central banking, which has so far focused heavily on the concept of central bank independence (CBI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huawei serves as a vehicle for presenting the multiple barriers faced by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) that happen to be born in China, a non-democratic and non-Western country who now challenges the world's No.1 superpower, thus requires a multi-disciplinary analytical framework by taking much broader contexts into considerations. This comparative case study of its operations in the US and UK aims to develop the old model of examining Chinese MNEs that is heavily economic factor focused by including more variables, such as 'bilateral relations', 'law', 'media influence' and 'cultural proximity' under host country factors, and 'governance structure' under home country factors. The new model will show the increasing complexity in the global competitive landscape and inspire more research to further advance understanding of this new international business phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing's proposal for a China–Nepal–India Economic Corridor (CNIEC) with multi-dimensional connectivity through the Himalayas aims at contributing development and prosperity for all three countries. While Beijing calls for Nepal's development to be one of the major objectives of the proposed corridor, the proposal has received a cold response from India so far. The recent territorial conflicts between China and India and between Nepal and India also strengthen scepticism over this proposal. Considering the troubled bilateral relationship between India and China, the future of CNIEC appears to be wishful thinking unless trust and transparency improve. Moreover, their divergence of interests in Nepal only appears to strengthen competition rather than co-operative working. However, the question around the CNIEC remains whether the project offers an opportunity for the two Asian superpowers to join together for regional cooperation involving Nepal. This article examines the potential and challenges of trilateral cooperation through CNIEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the catch-up experiences of the Chinese game industry from a neo-Schumpeterian perspective. It determines that Chinese indigenous firms succeeded in catch-up by strategically responding to favourable policy changes, such as a quota system that limited the import of overseas games and content inspection by the government. It is found that China has established its capabilities in a quite different manner than the experience of advanced countries during the dynamic catch-up process. This verdict shows that the order of capability development of late-comer countries can be different from that of advanced countries. Despite numerous studies that emphasise the role of government, we argue that, even when the market is unsegmented, if foreign knowledge is accessible, then the necessary intervention can involve little more than the protection of the initial market in the form of exclusive licensing, import restriction, not sharing R&D costs or promoting marketing activity. Despite exclusive licensing, import restriction and piracy, overseas game firms continued co-operating with China in the form of a publishing contract and IP sales due to massive market opportunities in China. This indicates that a large country with an immense domestic market can differentiate its catch-up strategies from those of small-market countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the trends, challenges and solutions to promote digital transformation of traditional industries in China as of March 2021. Other topics include the next-generation digital technologies like big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing, China's accomplishments on supply-side structural reform, and the role of digital technology in economic development.

The article discusses the strategies by the government of China to develop the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to promote regional development. Other topics include Beijing's strategic role as national political center, cultural center, and center for international exchanges, as well as how Beijing's hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games offers an opportunity to promote coordinated regional development.

The article discusses the efforts of the Communist Party of China (CPC) led by General Secretary Xi Jinping to alleviate poverty in the country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic as of March 2021. Also cited are how the pandemic affected poverty alleviation projects like water safety, relocation, and rural road projects, and the acceleration of socioeconomic developments in the country.

The article discusses the key issues in the development and reform of the capital market of China. Other topics include the market's role in supply-side structural reform and economic transformation, the implementation of the revised Securities Law of the People's Republic of China, the joint stock company system, and the importance of government-market relationship in economic transition.

The article discusses the Chinese government's efforts to modernize its state system and governance using the basic economic system. Other topics include the understanding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee of the basic system focusing on public ownership and income distribution, and the basic principles of Marxist political economy.

The Washington-Beijing rivalry of the early twentieth century was neither pre-ordained nor an aberration. It was constructed as domestic constituencies in each country were socialized toward confrontation. Pro-cooperation coalitions, which had emerged in each country to support alignment against a mutually perceived Soviet threat, were undermined by the final chapter of the Cold War. Yet a simmering U.S.-China rivalry was subsumed by an unsustainable accommodation of mutual self-interest by Washington and Beijing during the first two decades of the post-Cold War era. By the 2010s, the rivalry had become quite visible as pro-cooperation coalitions in the United States and China had splintered and been supplanted by pro-confrontation coalitions. U.S. and Chinese geostrategic reassessments also contributed to the emerging rivalry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue ('Quad')—a cooperative consisting of the US, Japan, Australia, and India—has re-emerged since 2017 after a decade of dormancy. After typologizing the minilateral security cooperation's goals and its expansion, this article explains that the current Quad is an expanded minilateral cooperation of the existing various security bilaterals and trilaterals among its member states. This minilateral has increased its non-military cooperation, focusing on infrastructure-building to counter that of China's Belt and Road Initiative in the Indo-Pacific region. It also examines how China has been responding to this line of the Quad's economic responses, while China is cautious about the Quad's security implications. It concludes with some predictions as to how this set of interactions is likely to influence the regional order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike the common view that sees FOIP as a containment strategy against China, this article argues that Japan's FOIP vision seeks to maintain an open and inclusive regional order that incorporates all regional countries into a common framework. To realize such a vision, Japan has strengthened its regional order-building efforts with other regional like-minded countries. However, such efforts have limitations in terms of the resource shortage, legal constraints, and the lack of regional consensus. Unless Japan can address these challenges, the FOIP would end up being a mere utopian dream, rather than a meaningful vision or strategy that can prevent the emergence of a Cold War and maintain an inclusive and rules-based order in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's Belt and Road Initiative ("BRI") has been the object of much speculation and even alarmism in some quarters. On the one hand, it seems to embody Xi Jinping's "Win-Win" diplomacy and the aspiration of China to play a positive role on the world stage; on the other hand, some have raised fears of debt traps and other negative consequences for participating countries. This article considers the effect of the development program on democracy in participating countries. China generally takes non-interference rhetoric seriously, and has not engaged in the extensive democracy-undermining programs of Russia and other authoritarians. But the BRI complicates China's relationships with recipient countries and changes domestic politics therein, whether as a matter of conscious strategy or not. This article explains the mechanisms whereby domestic democratic processes may be hindered or potentially even enhanced through the BRI. It also considers China's recent moves to utilize extraterritorial jurisdiction as a further point of leverage, suggesting that the BRI will have a political impact as well as its economic one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a recent increase in Chinese import competition, European firms increased innovation. We present and rationalise these patterns using 'trapped factors' at the micro level within a stylised equilibrium model of product-cycle trade and growth. Trade integration of the magnitude observed between the OECD and low-wage nations as a whole can considerably increase the long-run growth rate and welfare. In the short run exposed firms devote trapped factors to increased innovation, leading both to increased innovation at these individual firms as well as to a small amount of extra transitional growth overall. China accounts for half of the dynamic trade gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building foreign policy theories with Chinese characteristics has long been an aspiration of Chinese scholars, but has not resulted in much globally recognized achievements to date. This review essay begins with an overview of the obstacles to reaching this goal: confusion over the concept of theory, over-emphasis on policy prescription, confusion between the subject and object of study, restrictions on access to research materials, and lack of methodological diversity. To overcome these obstacles, we argue Chinese scholars should bring Chinese foreign policy studies (CFPS) into the larger field of comparative foreign policy analysis (FPA), and take advantage of FPA's rich arsenal of methodological tools and theoretical lenses to conduct insightful and rigorous analysis and theory building. Such an effort will not only facilitate the construction of foreign policy theory with Chinese characteristics but also contribute Chinese wisdom to FPA theory building, making it a truly global field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's rise as a global power corresponded with a diminution of Taiwanese diplomacy, which has left Central America as the last region to host a continuous bloc of countries that recognize the ROC. In this article, we argue that China's success in gaining diplomatic recognition from Taiwan's former allies has largely resulted from China's economic policy, specifically its promises of large-scale infrastructure projects and the integration of Central American economies with Chinese markets. However, there are limits to how far China has advanced in gaining full recognition from the region. The competing political and economic interests of China, Taiwan, the United States, and the Central American countries themselves, continue to influence patterns of diplomatic switching. More specifically, we argue that the threat of punitive measures from the United States combined with a turn in Taiwanese diplomacy toward assistance efforts to combat Covid-19 may deter future switching in the short to medium-term. Our analysis offers case studies of four Central American countries (Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua) to illustrate the multi-year processes by which China's economic strategy leads to diplomatic switching and examine the paths ahead for the remaining holdouts facing the prospect of economic and political penalties by the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The material dimensions of China's Beh and Road Initiative (BRI), which encompass multibillion-dollar investments in transport infrastructure and industrial estates, are expected to make China a key player in the development and increasing integration of mainland Southeast Asia. This article, however, looks beyond trade and hard infrastructure to examine China's emerging efforts to build influence at the ideational level through the use of Buddhism as a cultural resource. It documents government-sponsored outreach to Southeast Asia's Buddhist leaders and communities in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. It finds that there has been a surge in outreach from a range of Chinese provinces since the advent of the BRI in 2013. These outreach efforts warrant categorization as influence operations because they are orchestrated through the offices of the United Front Work Department, are being used to promote China's political goals, and are sanctioned by a party that remains staunchly atheist and forbids its members to practise religion. In broader terms, China's use of Buddhism as an adjunct to the BRI in mainland Southeast Asia suggests it is seeking to dampen disquiet about the BRI, including by fostering a sense of shared values with mainland Southeast Asian states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the connection between poverty alleviation and rural revitalization in China, as of December 2020. It reports on the requirement of the transformation of poverty alleviation strategy and work system for establishing close connection between poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. It highlights policies and measures implemented by central and local governments of China in poverty reduction process.

The article focuses on tax and fee reduction policies of China, as of December 2020. It discusses several features of these policies which include continuous expansion of policy coverage, increased intensity of tax and fee cuts and policy orientation. It highlights the impact of tax and fee cuts on tax burden of macro and micro industries, macroeconomy and fiscal balance. It also reports on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic and fiscal policy of China. tax red.

The article focuses on issues related to reform and development of capital market in China, as of December 2020. It highlights the effectiveness of reform and development goals of Chinese capital market. It discusses the role of Chinese government-market relationship in capital market reform and development. It also reports on the reforms in the registration-based IPO (initial public offering).

Existing research on the targeted poverty alleviation program in China struggles to explain the dynamics of policy implementation. This article incorporates individual-level factors such as street-level bureaucrats' discretion and behaviors with institutional elements, thus combining structure-centered and actor-centered approaches. The data utilized is from 19 semi-structured interviews with township officials, local village cadres, and villagers located in an eastern province in China. By identifying and coding the policy perspectives of 'street-level bureaucrats' (i.e. village cadres in this case) through a two by two factorial table (combinations of the identifiability and the participation willingness of the target population), this study conceptualizes the policy output of 'behaviors of implementers' to categorize the policy implementation outcomes of the program. The four policy implementation patterns identified are supportive policy implementation, passive policy implementation, unsustainable policy implementation, and performative policy implementation. By isolating these four policy implementation patterns, this research provides insights on local governance and policy implementation in contemporary rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]