In The News

Central Asia Is Corrupted by Cotton

Quentin Peel March 10, 2005
Though many developing countries are cheering a recent WTO ruling declaring US agricultural subsidies illegal, indigent farmers in Central Asia will never know the difference. Since the dismantling of the Soviet regime, the cotton industries in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan have been hijacked by wealthy insiders. Working with international traders, middlemen sell expensive inputs to...

China's Latin Influence Is Growing, General Says

Pablo Bachelet March 10, 2005
Recent US sanctions against several Latin American and Caribbean countries may come back to haunt it. US Army General Bantz Craddock testified before a Congressional panel that cuts in military aid may have alienated several countries – and that China has stepped in to fill the void. The Asian giant aggressively pursued economic ties with several Latin American countries, in order to support...

Confucius Says: It's Time to Learn Mandarin

Hamish McDonald March 7, 2005
As China continues its ascent as a global power, the demand for Chinese-language speakers has, indeed, increased. In response to – and perhaps to reinforce –these needs, China has launched an international initiative to boost language proficiency. Dubbed the Confucius Institutes, over 100 Chinese language learning centers are planned to open in cities worldwide. As with many Chinese global...

A Drug-Free Afghanistan Not So Easy

Paula R. Newberg March 7, 2005
The recent announcement of surging Afghan poppy production, while no surprise, is indicative of a dangerous trend – one that may ultimately undo the recovery of the fragile Asian state: Illegal poppy production now, more than ever, forms the basis of Afghanistan's economy. The fledgling state's existence as a cornerstone of both the war on terror and international anti-narcotics...

China's timber use ravages forests

Tim Johnson March 7, 2005
Much to the distress of their US competitors, Chinese manufacturers are charging very low prices for their furniture. They can do so because, as environmentalists are increasingly discovering, they benefit from large, cheap supplies of illegal timber imported from all over the world. Much of this timber comes from rare hardwood forests, which are being depleted by illegal logging. China has...

Japan Dips its Toe in the Taiwan Strait

Wenran Jiang March 2, 2005
China might not be an "outpost of tyranny," but the new Bush foreign policy team again considers the Asian giant a strategic competitor, writes political scientist Wenran Jiang. Concerns over China's military development and heightened aggressiveness towards Taiwan have led the United States to reassess its previous conclusion that China posed no serious threat to the global...

Leveraging the Dragon: Toward "An Africa That Can Say No"

Chris Alden March 1, 2005
China is extending its economic influence to every corner of the world, and natural-resource-rich Africa is no exception. Between 2000 and 2003, China-Africa trade volume increased from US$10 billion to US$18 billion. However, some fear that this bilateral relationship is not built on equitable terms. According to economist Chris Alden, Africa's trade deficit with China has increased...