Financing of the African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN) through Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Projects is very expensive. As a result, most of the African countries seek financial supports from the Inte...Financing of the African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN) through Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Projects is very expensive. As a result, most of the African countries seek financial supports from the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). However, conditions provided by the IFIs through the Performance Standards (PS) of the International Financial Corporation (IFC) increase cost of the projects and thus, it becomes a burden to most of the African countries. This study aimed to explore the causes of IFC-PS through the SGR Projects that escalate costs and how to address them. The Tanzania SGR Lot 1 Project that covered 205 km from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro was selected as a case study. The methods used for data collection involved literature review, focus group discussions and interviews. The results and findings show a gap between the IFC-PS and the National Laws and Regulations that escalates costs of the projects if funds from the IFIs were to be secured. To bridge the gap, it is recommended that the African countries should engage into negotiations with the IFIs to agree to waive IFC-PS conditions that escalate costs provided they are adequately covered in the national laws and regulations;engagement of locally established national and regional financial institutions;and the responsible government institutions in the African countries should sit together for assessment and review of the IFC-PS against the national laws and regulations.展开更多
The first mid-term election of the U. S. in the new century took place on November 5, 2002. One third of the senators from the 107th Congress (34 out of 100), all representatives (435), 36 state governors, and numerou...The first mid-term election of the U. S. in the new century took place on November 5, 2002. One third of the senators from the 107th Congress (34 out of 100), all representatives (435), 36 state governors, and numerous local officials and legislators were to be elected or reelected. The resounding victory of the GOP in the congressional elections and the fact that the Democrats only got three more.展开更多
The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port(FTP)should not only exploit the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics but also research and draw on the advanced institutions and successful exp...The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port(FTP)should not only exploit the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics but also research and draw on the advanced institutions and successful experience of typical international free trade ports.The emergence of typical international free trade ports in Singapore,Dubai,and Chinese Hong Kong depends on an embedded international economic and trade order and institutional innovation practices.Both conditions are interactively embedded through a series of institutional designs with similar characteristics.The paper sorts out the necessary factors of the successful practice of typical international free trade ports,and proposess that the Hainan FTP should continue to exert its advantages by building on existing institutional innovation.At the same time,it should actively embed the regional multilateral international and economic and trade landscape represented by the Belt and Road Initiative and expedite institutional innovation and reform,and development in different fields,to create a socialist free trade port with Chinesecharacteristics.展开更多
During the Nationalist Era, China dealt with its relatively weaker position in the global geopolitics of news communication by forging and managing strategic collaborations with the world＇s leading news agencies. Thi...During the Nationalist Era, China dealt with its relatively weaker position in the global geopolitics of news communication by forging and managing strategic collaborations with the world＇s leading news agencies. This study analyzes the case of the bilateral contractual relationship between Reuters and the Guomindang （GMD） government＇s official news agency, the Central News Agency （CNA）. By doing so, the article reveals that in the course of developing useful cooperation with the leading international news agencies to open up inter-institutional and interpersonal channels and networks for disseminating the GMD government＇s official news and viewpoints abroad, the GMD government and CNA were also confronted with a growing necessity to manage and control protracted contentious, disputes, and even conflicts arising from the party-state＇s persistent attempts to assert news communication sovereignty. The study also highlights the vital role of Zhao Minheng （1904-61）--a US-educated Chinese journalist in the employment of Reuters--as middleman in the CNA-Reuters relationship. Zhao＇s career provides us with an important means to analyze CNA＇s international news-agency relations from transnational and transcultural perspectives.展开更多
Geopolitics,technology and international institutions are three major areas of great power competition.In the analysis of great power relations,both the balance of power theory and the hegemony theory rely on the assu...Geopolitics,technology and international institutions are three major areas of great power competition.In the analysis of great power relations,both the balance of power theory and the hegemony theory rely on the assumption of diminishing returns and ignore the possibility of increasing returns.Increasing returns play an extensive role in geographical location,technological evolution and institutional change;accordingly,the increasing returns mechanism in great power relations is reflected in the geopolitical competition,technological competition and international institutional competition of great powers.The rational expectation that initial advantages will be transformed into long-term advantages through the mechanism of increasing returns drives great powers into competition whether they are rivals or allies.As specific mechanisms leading to increasing returns,coordination effects operate in geopolitical competition,technological competition and international institution competition;learning effects are found in technological competition and international institution competition;and adaptive expectations play a part in international institution competition.Various cases,ranging from the Anglo-Dutch rivalry over maritime hegemony in the 17th century to the current US-European competition over international investment arbitration regimes,show that great power competition derives from the logic of increasing returns.展开更多
This study focusses on the relationship between China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation(WTO)and its reform of stateowned enterprises(SOEs)and suggests that the major incentive for the Chinese government to ...This study focusses on the relationship between China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation(WTO)and its reform of stateowned enterprises(SOEs)and suggests that the major incentive for the Chinese government to join the WTO is to promote economic reforms through overcoming domestic obstacles.After other options such as decentralisation,legalisation,and privatisation failed to enhance viability of SOEs,the Chinese government began to rely on international institutions to enhance its credibility and harden the budget constraints on SOEs.The WTO is one of the most important international organisations and has binding force for its member states.China’s participation in the WTO will effectively harden budget constraints on its SOEs and improve the efficiency of these enterprises through introducing competition into the domestic market.Historical data support our argument and indicate that China has effectively enhanced the credibility of government commitments and promoted the reform of its SOEs since its accession to the WTO.展开更多
Since becoming an active member of the South Bay Chapter of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association,I have contributed four articles to the Voice of Friendship magazine,a publication of the Chinese People’s Assoc...Since becoming an active member of the South Bay Chapter of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association,I have contributed four articles to the Voice of Friendship magazine,a publication of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.Although the USCPFA focuses on friendship between the US and China,my deeper interest is learning about and展开更多
文摘Financing of the African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN) through Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Projects is very expensive. As a result, most of the African countries seek financial supports from the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). However, conditions provided by the IFIs through the Performance Standards (PS) of the International Financial Corporation (IFC) increase cost of the projects and thus, it becomes a burden to most of the African countries. This study aimed to explore the causes of IFC-PS through the SGR Projects that escalate costs and how to address them. The Tanzania SGR Lot 1 Project that covered 205 km from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro was selected as a case study. The methods used for data collection involved literature review, focus group discussions and interviews. The results and findings show a gap between the IFC-PS and the National Laws and Regulations that escalates costs of the projects if funds from the IFIs were to be secured. To bridge the gap, it is recommended that the African countries should engage into negotiations with the IFIs to agree to waive IFC-PS conditions that escalate costs provided they are adequately covered in the national laws and regulations;engagement of locally established national and regional financial institutions;and the responsible government institutions in the African countries should sit together for assessment and review of the IFC-PS against the national laws and regulations.
文摘The first mid-term election of the U. S. in the new century took place on November 5, 2002. One third of the senators from the 107th Congress (34 out of 100), all representatives (435), 36 state governors, and numerous local officials and legislators were to be elected or reelected. The resounding victory of the GOP in the congressional elections and the fact that the Democrats only got three more.
文摘The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port(FTP)should not only exploit the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics but also research and draw on the advanced institutions and successful experience of typical international free trade ports.The emergence of typical international free trade ports in Singapore,Dubai,and Chinese Hong Kong depends on an embedded international economic and trade order and institutional innovation practices.Both conditions are interactively embedded through a series of institutional designs with similar characteristics.The paper sorts out the necessary factors of the successful practice of typical international free trade ports,and proposess that the Hainan FTP should continue to exert its advantages by building on existing institutional innovation.At the same time,it should actively embed the regional multilateral international and economic and trade landscape represented by the Belt and Road Initiative and expedite institutional innovation and reform,and development in different fields,to create a socialist free trade port with Chinesecharacteristics.
文摘During the Nationalist Era, China dealt with its relatively weaker position in the global geopolitics of news communication by forging and managing strategic collaborations with the world＇s leading news agencies. This study analyzes the case of the bilateral contractual relationship between Reuters and the Guomindang （GMD） government＇s official news agency, the Central News Agency （CNA）. By doing so, the article reveals that in the course of developing useful cooperation with the leading international news agencies to open up inter-institutional and interpersonal channels and networks for disseminating the GMD government＇s official news and viewpoints abroad, the GMD government and CNA were also confronted with a growing necessity to manage and control protracted contentious, disputes, and even conflicts arising from the party-state＇s persistent attempts to assert news communication sovereignty. The study also highlights the vital role of Zhao Minheng （1904-61）--a US-educated Chinese journalist in the employment of Reuters--as middleman in the CNA-Reuters relationship. Zhao＇s career provides us with an important means to analyze CNA＇s international news-agency relations from transnational and transcultural perspectives.
文摘Geopolitics,technology and international institutions are three major areas of great power competition.In the analysis of great power relations,both the balance of power theory and the hegemony theory rely on the assumption of diminishing returns and ignore the possibility of increasing returns.Increasing returns play an extensive role in geographical location,technological evolution and institutional change;accordingly,the increasing returns mechanism in great power relations is reflected in the geopolitical competition,technological competition and international institutional competition of great powers.The rational expectation that initial advantages will be transformed into long-term advantages through the mechanism of increasing returns drives great powers into competition whether they are rivals or allies.As specific mechanisms leading to increasing returns,coordination effects operate in geopolitical competition,technological competition and international institution competition;learning effects are found in technological competition and international institution competition;and adaptive expectations play a part in international institution competition.Various cases,ranging from the Anglo-Dutch rivalry over maritime hegemony in the 17th century to the current US-European competition over international investment arbitration regimes,show that great power competition derives from the logic of increasing returns.
文摘This study focusses on the relationship between China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation(WTO)and its reform of stateowned enterprises(SOEs)and suggests that the major incentive for the Chinese government to join the WTO is to promote economic reforms through overcoming domestic obstacles.After other options such as decentralisation,legalisation,and privatisation failed to enhance viability of SOEs,the Chinese government began to rely on international institutions to enhance its credibility and harden the budget constraints on SOEs.The WTO is one of the most important international organisations and has binding force for its member states.China’s participation in the WTO will effectively harden budget constraints on its SOEs and improve the efficiency of these enterprises through introducing competition into the domestic market.Historical data support our argument and indicate that China has effectively enhanced the credibility of government commitments and promoted the reform of its SOEs since its accession to the WTO.
文摘Since becoming an active member of the South Bay Chapter of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association,I have contributed four articles to the Voice of Friendship magazine,a publication of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.Although the USCPFA focuses on friendship between the US and China,my deeper interest is learning about and
