In The News

For East Asia, Crisis Prompts a Rethinking of Dependence on Exports

Keith Bradsher March 5, 2009
For many years, East Asian exporters in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan have enjoyed a massive growth in surplus. But all that has changed. As trade withers away, exporters in East Asia are suffering because consumers, retailers and other importers in the West are cutting back on their purchases, orders and have even gone to the extreme of stopping orders altogether. The question is, how to...

China’s Quiet Activists

Shawn Shieh February 25, 2009
The Sichuan earthquake in May 2008 devastated entire communities, but it also witnessed the sprouting of grassroots organizations in the rubble. Notable among these has been the 512 Center, a grassroots group of activists who moved quickly to coordinate rescue efforts and alleviate suffering after the earthquake. What has also been notable is the government’s attitude toward this group. Normally...

Worst Drought in Half-Century Shrivels the Wheat Belt of China

Michael Wines February 25, 2009
Northern China, which provides three fifths of the nation's crops, is suffering the worst drought in 50 years. “Water supplies have been drying up in northern China for decades, the result of pervasive overuse and waste,” reports Michael Wines for the New York Times about the world's most populated country that controls growth with a one-child policy. “The drought is peaking as millions...

Global Crisis Spurs Long-Needed Change in China

David Dollar February 20, 2009
As the global economy sinks deeper into recession, political leaders look to any country with hefty surpluses and a strong manufacturing sector, such as China, to restore growth. But China’s economy is lagging, too, and World Bank economist David Dollar points out that a decline in imports, particularly parts and materials, as well as declines in steel and electricity sectors signal no quick end...

N. Korea Plans Free Trade Zone on Island

Toru Makinoda February 5, 2009
North Korea, one of the most closed nations in the world, may soon have more contact with China, with plans for a free trade zone on Wi Hwa Island. Chinese would not need visas, and the trade zone could increase food and other shipments into North Korea. Analysts suggest that North Korea could be using such a zone to pressure South Korea into continuing its policies of conciliation, reports Toru...

US and China: Grappling Over Economic Rescue – Part I

Xu Sitao January 30, 2009
Trade imbalances, fueled by overproduction and saving in Asia, too much consumption and debt in the West, have compounded the harsh global recession. Analysts in the US and elsewhere in the West floundering for a remedy have focused on China’s trillion-plus dollar surplus and suggest that an increase in Chinese domestic spending might ease the global pain. This two-part YaleGlobal series suggests...

Drug Making’s Move Abroad Stirs Concerns

Gardiner Harris January 28, 2009
Consumers want inexpensive medications and yet express concern about pharmaceutical firms relocating factories abroad, along with the loss of jobs and possible loss of quality control. “Like other manufacturing operations, drug plants have been moving to Asia because labor, construction, regulatory and environmental costs are lower there,” reports Gardiner Harris for the New York Times, adding...