In The News

APEC Leaders Silent on South China Sea

Trefor Moss November 19, 2015
The attacks on civilians in Paris by the Islamic State have rallied world leaders to cooperate on combatting terrorism. Such coordination could ease tensions in other areas or distract attention. At the summit for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, held in Manila, 21 leaders urged cooperation on fighting terrorism and improving economic growth. “On the sensitive matter of the South China Sea, the...

Surge in Protectionist Measures Blamed for Sapping Trade

William Mauldin November 13, 2015
Global trade is in decline in terms of value and volume. “On average G20 exports have fallen 4.5% since world trade peaked in value in October 2014,” notes a report from Global Trade Alert. Countries resort to protectionist measures to preserve growth and jobs. William Mauldin writes about the report for the Wall Street Journal: “India, Russia and the U.S. have imposed the most ‘trade-distorting...

Is China the Next Mexico?

Jorge Guajardo November 5, 2015
China’s political and economic transformations should be compared with that of Mexico, suggests Jorge Guajardo, a former Mexican ambassador to China, in an essay for Zócalo Public Square. In the 1990s, during the negotiations for the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, analysts cheered Mexico’s economic expertise and openness to free trade by the ruling party with its lock on power. “Lost in all...

The US and Russia Face to Face as Ice Curtain Melts

Humphrey Hawksley November 5, 2015
The US defense budget for 2014 is more than double that of Russia and China’s combined. Measuring naval strength is trickier as comparisons of hulls or personnel matter less than surveillance and sophisticated weaponry and vessels like ice-cutters. As climate change melts sea ice, countries eye the Arctic for natural resources and trade routes, reassessing naval positions. Journalist Humphrey...

When a 127-Year-Old US Industry Collapses Under China's Weight

Joe Deaux November 4, 2015
Companies and consumers alike seek supplies with lowest prices. That trend is prompting Alcoa to cut back on making and refining aluminum. “For more than a decade, output has been moving to where it’s cheaper to produce: Russia, the Middle East and China,” reports Joe Dean for Bloomberg News, adding that low labor, energy and currency costs give overseas plants an advantage. China accounts for...

In China’s Alleyways, Underground Banks Move Money

Chuin-Wei Yap October 30, 2015
China’s government restricts movement of funds out of the country, but a network of middlemen charge fees for underground currency exchanges and remittance transfers. “Facing a turbulent stock market and a weakening economy, many Chinese are trying to move money offshore,” reports Chuin-Wei Yap for the Wall Street Journal. “No official data track the underground transfers, but central-bank...

The Silk Road – Old and New

Nayan Chanda October 26, 2015
In the summer of 2011, the US secretary of state called for a “new Silk Road” throughout Asia, investment in trade and infrastructure to counter extremism. China used the term But then China used the term for its own ambitious plans. “President Xi Jinping launched with fanfare an ambitious New Silk Road project on land and sea,” writes Nayan Chanda for Global Asia, a publication of the East Asia...