In The News

Growing Economies, Rising Problems – Part II

Uri Dadush, William Shaw June 23, 2011
The global economy is expected to triple in size by the year 2050, and much of the growth will come from emerging economies, which were viewed not long ago as impoverished and backward. This YaleGlobal series examines the consequences of the changing global economic order. While developing nations accrue more economic power, thanks to their large populations, they’ll remain relatively poor, note...

Latin America Ponders Role of the Renminbi

Joe Leahy June 23, 2011
Latin America anticipates China’s rise as the world’s top economy, but is uncertain about the Chinese currency. During the last decade, trade between the two regions increased fivefold and Chinese direct investment into Latin America increased by twentyfold, reports Joe Leahy for the Financial Times. Many Latin American firms are unfamiliar with the renminbi, Leahy writes, adding “For Brazil’s...

Change in China Hits US Purse

Jon Hilsenrath, Laurie Burkitt, Elizabeth Holmes June 22, 2011
For more than a decade, US shoppers enjoyed low prices on clothing, electronics and other products, thanks to China’s low-cost labor and its government keeping the value of its currency low. But the days of discounted prices are coming to an end as Chinese workers demand higher wages, the value of the Chinese yuan rises and new consumer demand throughout China leads to rising prices for cotton,...

China Proposes $15bn Indus Dam Scheme

William MacNamara June 21, 2011
Extremism is not deterring China’s foreign-investment plans with Pakistan. The builders behind the world’s largest dam, China’s Three Gorges, have proposed a $15 billion dam project for Pakistan and the Indus River, promising to control floods and produce power, reports William MacNamara for the Financial Times. The Indus is about 3000 kilometers long, passing from Tibet to Kashmir and Pakistan....

Eurasian Geopolitics Face Astana Earthquake

Pepe Escobar June 16, 2011
While the Middle East captures the most focus, Central Asia also offers strategic energy supplies. The South Yolotan gas field in Turkmenistan, for example, is the world’s second largest, reports Pepe Escobar in an opinion essay for Al Jazeera. Russia and China could be gambling that cooperation could be better than conflict at securing those supplies, and envision Central Asia re-emerging as a...

Hillary Clinton Warns Africa of “New Colonialism”

Matthew Lee June 13, 2011
After a brief decline in foreign direct investment in 2009, due in part to global recession, Asian firms and governments increasingly target Africa with investment and infrastructure support, aiming to exploit the continent’s oil, minerals and other rich natural resources. In recent years, Chinese firms have led in foreign direct investment in several African nations. Expressing concern about new...

Wolf at the Door: What Happened to the Predictions of Doom?

Gregory Chin June 10, 2011
As China prepared to accede to the World Trade Organization, analysts worried about a globalization trap, including crippling competition for its industries and farmers, a loss of sovereignty and disruption to the nation’s anticipated trajectory of growth, explains Gregory Chin, chair of the China Research Group at the Center for International Governance Innovation. Specialists fretted about...