In The News

Latin America Ponders Role of the Renminbi

Joe Leahy June 23, 2011
Latin America anticipates China’s rise as the world’s top economy, but is uncertain about the Chinese currency. During the last decade, trade between the two regions increased fivefold and Chinese direct investment into Latin America increased by twentyfold, reports Joe Leahy for the Financial Times. Many Latin American firms are unfamiliar with the renminbi, Leahy writes, adding “For Brazil’s...

China Proposes $15bn Indus Dam Scheme

William MacNamara June 21, 2011
Extremism is not deterring China’s foreign-investment plans with Pakistan. The builders behind the world’s largest dam, China’s Three Gorges, have proposed a $15 billion dam project for Pakistan and the Indus River, promising to control floods and produce power, reports William MacNamara for the Financial Times. The Indus is about 3000 kilometers long, passing from Tibet to Kashmir and Pakistan....

Hillary Clinton Warns Africa of “New Colonialism”

Matthew Lee June 13, 2011
After a brief decline in foreign direct investment in 2009, due in part to global recession, Asian firms and governments increasingly target Africa with investment and infrastructure support, aiming to exploit the continent’s oil, minerals and other rich natural resources. In recent years, Chinese firms have led in foreign direct investment in several African nations. Expressing concern about new...

Bordeaux Vineyards Acquire Taste for Chinese Buyers

Alexandra Topping April 20, 2011
As China’s economy continues to grow, wealthy Chinese develop a new taste for luxury goods from around the world, including fine wines and French vineyards. Chinese investors increasingly make inquiries about purchasing centuries-old vineyards, and a few properties have been conveyed. Investors typically retain the local staff, though some critics express fear that newcomers won’t produce high-...

Chopstick Diplomacy in Chile

Nathaniel Parish Flannery April 18, 2011
China and Chile have developed close ties since the 1990s, and in 2005 Chile became the first non-Asian country to sign a free-trade agreement with China. China is now top trade partner for both Chile and Brazil, and new Chinese restaurants opening throughout South America are just one signal of strengthening South-South ties and China’s soft power. The restaurants, prominent exemplars of Chinese...

China "to Overtake US on Science" in Two Years

David Shukman April 6, 2011
With a growing economy and rising surplus, China has invested heavily in education and R&D. "Chinese spending has grown by 20% per year since 1999, now reaching over $100bn, and as many as 1.5 million science and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006," reports David Shukman for the BBC News. A study by the UK's national science academy compares the...

Fighting Imported Corruption

Devesh Kapur, Arvind Subramanian April 5, 2011
Indians are furious and astounded about recent corruption cases, where large ill-gotten funds have vanished. In an essay for Business Standard, Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian blame the ease in cross-border transfer of funds. The pair contends that as money is concentrated in fewer hands, it’s secretly transferred to tax-free domains beyond national borders and then returned as valued foreign...