In The News

Asian Reaction to Unocal Bid Is Muted

Wayne Arnold June 30, 2005
China’s pending bid for Unocal, a California-based oil company, has profound implications for several Southeast Asian countries, where about half of Unocal’s assets are located. And yet these countries – Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar – appear less concerned about the possible transfer of power from the US to China than most American policy-makers are. Part of this lackadaisical...

Name Goods in China but Brand X Elsewhere

David Barboza June 29, 2005
Chinese businesses, with the encouragement of their government, have embarked on a worldwide label buying spree, purchasing internationally well-known brand names. Chinese bids to acquire prominent American companies such as Maytag and Unocal demonstrate that China is eager to make its top companies more competitive by allowing them to access international markets as well as their domestic...

It's Time for Pakistan to Play a Larger Regional Role

Aparna Shivpuri Singh June 23, 2005
With the completion of diplomatic visits to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei, Pakistan now participates in the growing trend of bilateral alliances in Asia. As Pakistan's economy opens to foreign investment, the government is courting Southeast Asian nations and promoting a bid to become a full member of ASEAN. Success thus far is partly due to its cooperation with Asian countries...

Mixing Oil, Gas, and Politics

June 21, 2005
The Russian government has become a majority shareholder in Gazprom, one of the country's largest oil producers. The buyout is aimed at opening the company up to foreign investment and bolstering the Russian stock market. The move was also likely designed to put the government in a more favorable position to purchase large blocks of other oil companies, with the goal of creating an enormous...

Next for the West Are Cars "Made in China"

Geoff Dyer June 1, 2005
Automakers may see China as a growing market, but soon they may face unexpected competition from a number of manufacturers who are seeking to export to the West, as well. Several Chinese companies have already begun a trial run in the Middle East to prepare for the US market, the goal of more than two decades of attempts to build a competitive car industry. The Chinese companies will encounter...

Washington and the Chavez Question

Patrick Esteruelas May 25, 2005
Many fear that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez may successfully create a substantial leftist, anti-American political bloc in South America. But as the Financial Times notes, Chavez's strategies – combining populist rhetoric, left-leaning militarism, and natural resource manipulation – may not be quite so successful. Venezuela's oil has been a key tool in shaping regional politics:...

Reviving an Old Dream of Afro-Asian Cooperation

Thomas Abraham May 24, 2005
In 1955, the giants of the developing world gathered in Bandung, Indonesia, in an historic attempt to promote Asian-African solidarity. Despite their hopes, few of the participating countries were stable enough to ensure meaningful change. Fifty years later, developing country leaders gathered in the same city, with the same purpose: to promote cooperation between the two regions. Though the...