In The News

China: Defending its Core Interest in the World – Part II

Guobin Yang April 7, 2010
Media reports on Google’s redirecting internet searches by Chinese authorities to its uncensored site in Hong Kong have largely presented it as a conflict between two global titans. But the narrow focus of such reporting overlooks that Google’s pull-out was limited, leaving many services in place, and that Chinese authorities have not acted to shut down the company’s Hong Kong detour, notes...

Crumbs from the BRICs-Man’s Table

April 7, 2010
As global recession enfeebles the rich world, big middle-income countries, led by the BRICs, (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have dramatically increased their economic interest in poorer countries, and by consequence, their influence. This has taken direct – aid, investment, and trade – and indirect means, and continues to increase rapidly: the growing drought of rich-world assistance to Africa...

Marketing to Brazil's Emerging Middle Class

Seth Kugel March 31, 2010
The purchasing power of lower- and middle-class Brazilians is expanding rapidly, creating new opportunities and markets for global companies. Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, for instance, has repackaged a denture adhesive and is trying to sell it in slum communities in Rio de Janeiro. But the transition to the new market is not easy. For one thing, no one in these communities knows what a...

Toyota’s Stumble is Not a Metaphor for Japan Inc.

Lam Peng Er March 26, 2010
Many equate Toyota’s current woes with a failure of Japan Inc, even Japan itself, according to East Asian specialist Lam Peng Er. But this would be a mistake. Toyota’s ills are really a congeries of missteps now caught up in conspiracy theories and political wrangling. For years, Toyota was synonymous with Japanese manufacturing excellence. But this search for constant improvement at an ever...

E-Waste Trade Ban Won’t End Environmental Threat

Joe Kullman March 25, 2010
While the US Congress considers a ban on the trading of electronics waste (e-waste), the larger, global problem remains unaddressed. Currently, many developed nations export their technological waste to developing nations for “backyard recycling”, where it releases harmful toxins into the environment. Trade bans, like the one Congress is considering, are intended to remove the environmental...

The World Needs Rebalancing, Not China Alone

Jeffrey E. Garten March 22, 2010
Washington’s uproar surrounding China’s handling of its currency risks becoming more than a trade spat, according to international trade expert Jeffrey E. Garten. If the US labels China a currency manipulator and imposes tariffs on Chinese goods, not only could this action wreck the recovery, as the world economy remains fragile, but it could also boil over into other realms of international...

Germany: Responsible for Europe’s crisis?

Cameron Abadi March 22, 2010
Germany’s economic policies have strengthened its domestic economy but weakened Europe’s less developed economies. Low prices, resulting from low wage increases, have made German products more competitive in the European market. Meanwhile, domestic consumption has shown muted growth, allowing imports to remain low. The result is a high trade surplus and one of the largest GDPs in Europe. But...