Diplomatic Relations and Investment Location of Chinese Multinationals:An International Political Economy Perspective

Past research has suggested that diplomacy can play a significant role as a mechanism to pave the way for multinational enterprises(MNEs)in foreign countries.Drawing on the international political economy perspective,this article analyzes the influence of the diplomatic activities of the Chinese government on the location of Chinese MNEs.It develops several hypotheses regarding the influence of three essential tools in the Chinese government's current diplomatic agenda:high-level visits by the Chinese President,the establishment of Confucius Institutes,and the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI).The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 972 country-year observations from 2013 to 2021.The results show that high-level government visits and Confucius Institutes positively impacted the location of China's outward foreign direct investments,with the effect being lower in BRI countries.The impact of Confucius Institutes was higher for state-owned enterprises.

China’s New Silk Route Initiative:Political and Economic Implications for the Middle East and Southeast Asia

The liberal economic policies which have been developed in China in the 1980s have significantly produced a“new demographic”reality with an increasing proportion of about 350 to 400-million strong Chinese middle class.This new reality is starting to affect the conduct and direction of China’s foreign policy particularly toward countries in Middle East and Southeast Asian regions,which hold considerable amount of energy resources,such as crude oil and gas.The“One Belt One Road”initiative(OBOR),proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013,signals the reinvigoration of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Route as a necessary measure to meet future Chinese demand for energy and open markets for its surplus products.Over the last two years,various Middle East countries,such as Iran,Saudi Arabia,United Arab Emirates,Turkey,Israel have watched China in cultural and political arenas.China’s economic needs have triggered this development.The same year,China’s president visited Indonesia and pledged a$40 billion fund to develop infrastructures along the route.With the new silk route proposal,China would be able to guarantee not only the stable energy supply from the Middle East but also access the markets of Southeast Asian countries.However,diverse views arising from this proposal questioned China’s real intentions.Has China’s proposal been designed to reorder Asia and contain US pivot to Asia?Does it signal the enlargement of China’s regional influence using its economic might?What does this policy say about ASEAN member countries,particularly the Philippines?This article however argues that China’s regional and international expansion is a natural byproduct of its economic weight;it also argues that the Middle East and maritime Southeast Asian countries can expect maximum economic and political gains from joining the“One Belt One Road”initiative.

Politics of Oil and Natural Gas vis-à-vis the Foreign Policy of Iran

This study discusses the relationship of Iran’s oil and gas resources with its foreign policy.Because these resources play a major role in government power,they serve as a major focus of Iran’s governmental policy and relations with other countries.Our review led us to conclude that despite Iran’s abundant reserves􀃼the world’s fourth-largest crude oil and largest natural gas reserves-international powers influenced the country’s foreign policy sufficiently for Iran to decrease its oil production.The authors will demonstrate how fluctuations in oil and natural gas production were the outcome of a globalized structure that affected instability in Iran’s foreign policy in specific ways.Our conceptual investigation of energy politics after the 1979 revolution revealed different policies that caused numerous concerns for the new government.While Iran’s politicians strove to retain the Islamic Republic above all,both doctrine and foreign policy revolved circuitously from a radical 1979 Revolution position to renewed radical position in 2005 with two intermediate shifts in position.One was pragmatic shift in the late 1980s,and the second took a more moderate tone in late 1990s by focusing almost entirely on the production of oil and natural gas.