In The News

China Tangled Up in Red, White and Blue

Dingli Shen October 16, 2008
China’s bilateral relationship with the US is a priority for both nations. Foreign investment and trade creates jobs and contributes to stability. “The Chinese view of its government's relations with the United States is primarily based on economic terms and is shaped around the premise that it sees China as a newly developing economy that offers opportunities to American investors to expand...

Global Crisis: How Far to Go? Part II

Manu Bhaskaran October 10, 2008
Speed of transportation and communication that characterize today’s global supply chain requires trust and flow of credit along the many steps: But now consumers worry about the future of their jobs, retailers and manufacturers worry about sales, suppliers worry about orders and lenders clutch to their reserves of cash. In the second article of the YaleGlobal series addressing the repercussions...

North Korea: Life After Kim

Shim Jae Hoon September 26, 2008
Uncertainty and infighting await nations that lack a strategy for leadership succession. The Kim family has ruled North Korea since it declared independence in 1948, but Kim Jong Il has not groomed his children for leadership. So speculation centers on them along with Kim’s fourth wife, Kim Ok, who visited Washington during the waning days of the Clinton administration. Analysts anticipate an...

Chinese Companies Face Uphill Path for Profit in India

Wei Gu September 26, 2008
Chinese manufacturers have long been able to manufacture products at a fraction of the cost of production elsewhere, setting the standard for production models in recent years. However, with a surplus of producers in their domestic market, Chinese companies look west to India. As journalist Wei Gu notes, India is both the alluring “prize” of emerging markets as well as a steppingstone to Western...

Keeping Up With China's Olympic Shine – Part II

Alexandra Harney September 24, 2008
China has become known as factory to the world – as manufacturers invested in factories to take advantage of a labor force that accepts low wages and a government with minimal environmental standards and even less enforcement. Shoppers like low prices while the companies enjoy immense profits. China, indeed the entire world, pays a heavy price for manufacturing firms gathering in a place with...

Saving Face, Not Lives

Anne-Marie Brady September 23, 2008
More than 50,000 children have fallen ill, after drinking milk contaminated with melamine, a fertilizer ingredient. Chinese and dairy officials – including China’s San Lu, with a 43 percent share owned by New Zealand dairy firm Fonterra – colluded to suppress negative press before or during the Olympics, reports author Anne-Marie Brady for the Sunday Star Times in New Zealand. Chinese families...

Keeping Up With China's Olympic Shine – Part I

David Dollar September 22, 2008
Awarded the right to stage the 2008 Olympics, China set to work polishing cities and parks, designing grand architecture, and coaching citizens to be warm and welcoming hosts. No sacrifice was deemed too great for achieving a successful Olympics and sending a message worldwide about China’s can-do spirit. Perhaps more than anyone else, China’s people appreciated the end results, with the emphasis...