In The News

India Gains Credibility as an Emergent Export Titan

Jo Johnson December 1, 2005
For years, analysts dismissed the prospects of India's manufacturing sector. India had been left behind by the wave of manufacturing off-sourcing that enriched China and Southeast Asia, and critics argued that India's best hope of catching up with its neighbors lay in the service sector. Those critics are falling silent, however, as 1990s economic reforms finally begin to spur...

Environmentalists in Italy Fight a ‘Green’ Project

Elizabeth Rosenthal November 30, 2005
In the tiny Alpine village of Venaus in northern Italy, volunteers are mobilizing huge protests to stop the construction of a pan-European high-speed freight line. The project aims to connect Western and Eastern Europe with a high-speed rail network, achieving the dream of a single European market where goods can move freely and efficiently. In Velnaus, a crucial link in the system, two long...

The Box That Makes the World Go Round

Alexander Jung November 29, 2005
When the ocean-freight industry was born, no one predicted how rapidly it would grow as a result of globalization. In particular, the division of labor that is a function of globalization has dramatically affected the industry. China especially serves as the world’s manufacturing center, with the EU and the US being the principle consumers. Between them lies the vast expanse of the high seas,...

Putin Promises Oil Pipeline for Japan

James Brooke November 23, 2005
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has promised a pipeline that will carry Siberian oil to Japan. His recent visit to Japan, where plans for the pipeline were discussed, appeared designed to incorporate Japan back into the Asian power triangle that currently emphasizes Russian and Chinese relations. The pipeline will unite Russia – the world’s second largest oil exporter – and Japan, one of...

India Concern to Design IBM Chips

Saritha Rai November 21, 2005
India is already well known as the center of software development outsourcing, but following an I.B.M. agreement, it may soon be recognized as a hub for microprocessor design as well. I.B.M. has announced that the first design center for Power Architecture chips outside of the company’s walls will be HCL Technologies, an Indian outsourcing company. The move is part of a strategy to set up...

Asia’s Polite Reception To Bush Masks Declining US Influence

Daniel Sneider November 17, 2005
Following mass anti-American protests and blistering criticism at Mar del Plata, President Bush has found a bit of respite on his East Asian sojourn. But, as Daniel Sneider, columnist for the Mercury News, is quick to note, “beneath the polite appearance, however, there is no less a challenge to American leadership in Asia.” Plans are afoot, spearheaded by China, to forge an East Asian Community...

Why American Free Trade Area Runs Aground Again?

Wu Hongying November 16, 2005
Viewed from Beijing, the failure of the Free Trade Area of the Americas reflects a rift between the US and the whole of Latin America. Wu Hongying writes that George Bush (following in his father's footsteps) sees the FTAA as a way of consolidating Washington's economy hegemony in the Americas, and says that the rest of the hemisphere will not stand for it. In particular, Wu argues...