China's Changing Outbound Foreign Direct Investment Profile: Drivers and Policy Implications

After decades of negligible outbound foreign direct investment (FDI), Chinese firms' outbound investment has reached significant levels in recent years, challenging international investment norms and affecting international relations. But China's outflows are poorly understood. Seen in context, China is a laggard in global investment, and the country faces numerous internal impediments to overcoming this disadvantaged position. Daniel H. Rosen and Thilo Hanemann review the data behind China's growing outbound investment, consider the commercial and political forces driving this growth, and analyze both foreign and domestic obstacles for Chinese overseas investors. While extensive media coverage has provoked worries that Chinese firms are buying up the world, China remains a relatively minor global investor compared with OECD countries. China's net FDI position remains negative, with $5 of FDI assets under foreign ownership in China for every$1 of Chinese direct investment assets abroad. But China's efforts to rebalance its economic growth and make the shift toward higher value-added economic activity will increasingly force Chinese firms to invest abroad. Government policy has evolved in recent years to encourage and support China's firms to look abroad. Investment regimes in host countries are one obstacle to Chinese outbound FDI, but China's firms are even more impeded by home-made problems, including the parochial executive leadership and a dearth of key management skills needed to operate successfully overseas. Rosen and Hanemann argue that the growing volume and changing nature of China's outbound investment have important implications for policymakers in host countries. Host country governments must clarify their policies and draw a clearer line between legitimate national security reviews and protectionist economic competitiveness impulses disguised as security concerns. The lack of data transparency contributes to the poor understanding of China's outbound investment, and these inadequacies must be corrected if China and investment incumbents are to work together optimally. In addition, given its disadvantaged FDI starting position China should be expected to pull considerable weight to preserve and promote an open international investment environment, including by maintaining openness at home. If China converges upward to OECD outbound investment levels rather than incumbent leaders trimming down to historic Chinese levels due to protectionism, then future flows coming from China can contribute positively to a range of international issues, from financial crisis recovery to mitigating climate change.

Deepening China-Taiwan Relations through the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement

On June 13, 2010, representatives from China and Taiwan held a third round of talks in Beijing on an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that would liberalize important aspects of cross-Strait economic relations. It is clear from available details that ECFA will be an ambitious accord that fundamentally changes the game between Taiwan and China and hence affects the regional economy and even the transpacific tempo for the United States. Rosen and Wang's economic projections of the effects of a China-Taiwan ECFA point to significant benefits of cross-Strait economic reform, especially for Taiwan, which would increase its 2020 GDP by about 4.5 percent, or $21 billion, from the current trend line. The authors, however, also conclude that the regional economy around China and Taiwan is not standing still but is extraordinarily dynamic. Other agreements in the region will be negotiated (e.g., ASEAN+3), which will impose costs on Taiwan, if it does not do an ECFA, to the tune of almost -0.8 percent of GDP. So the net effect of ECFA for Taiwan would be some 5.3 percent improvement in GDP by 2020. For China, the net results of ECFA are positive, though far less so than for Taiwan in value terms and of course as a share of GDP. For the United States, the authors project a very modest positive result from ECFA (though statistically marginal) but a more negative impact as the scenarios incorporating further Asian integration (ASEAN + 3) unfold. If the US objective is to maximize Taiwan's economic prospects and hence its freedom of independent action, then ECFA is highly desirable, and Taiwan's involvement in further Asian deepening is to be supported. However, US economic interests per se erode as Asia draws tighter together without US inclusion. That is an econometric reality. More significant still is the geoeconomic, qualitative implication of even long-standing nemeses China and Taiwan drawing together in a free trade pact while the United States watches, unable to ratify already negotiated Asian trade agreements like the US-Korea free trade agreement. While modest in global economic effects, the geoeconomic implications of a China-Taiwan economic pact are significant enough to demand strategic attention from the United States and underscore the importance of securing US economic engagement of the first order in Asia.

China's Economic Reforms: Chronology and Statistics

At the end of the twentieth century, the People's Republic of China faces stark trade policy choices. Market reforms implemented since 1978 have brought commercial strength and bright expectations for future prosperity. However, they have also brought China to the point where trading partners insist on commitments to liberal, internationally recognized trading principles. These calls come at a time when China is seeking to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO), is negotiating bilateral trade agreements with Europe, United States and its emerging neighbors, and is working out the terms of its participation in the ambitious Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

The Case for Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China

This program statement was developed to influence the important debate on U.S.-China economic relations. The statement presents a clear and simple case for Congressional approval of the PNTR legislation, which would benefit U.S. exporters and help foster long-term political and social change in China. It argues that China's entry into the WTO will require policy changes within China that will support the country's economic and social advancement, including its attitudes towards human rights, political liberalization, and environmental protection. A failure to undertake permanent normal trade relations, however, would impose economic costs on the United States, as other WTO members displace U.S. investment and trade in China. The statement was approved by CED's Program Committe

Reproductive health issues in rural Western Kenya

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We describe reproductive health issues among pregnant women in a rural area of Kenya with a high coverage of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and high prevalence of HIV (15%).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a community-based cross-sectional survey among rural pregnant women in western Kenya. A medical, obstetric and reproductive history was obtained. Blood was obtained for a malaria smear and haemoglobin level, and stool was examined for geohelminths. Height and weight were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 673 participants, 87% were multigravidae and 50% were in their third trimester; 41% had started antenatal clinic visits at the time of interview and 69% reported ITN-use. Malaria parasitemia and anaemia (haemoglobin < 11 g/dl) were detected among 36% and 53% of the women, respectively. Geohelminth infections were detected among 76% of the 390 women who gave a stool sample. Twenty percent of women were underweight, and sixteen percent reported symptoms of herpes zoster or oral thrush in the last two months. Nineteen percent of all women reported using a contraceptive method to delay or prevent pregnancy before the current pregnancy (injection 10%, pill 8%, condom 0.4%). Twenty-three percent of multigravidae conceived their current pregnancy within a year of the previous pregnancy. More than half of the multigravidae (55%) had ever lost a live born child and 21% had lost their last singleton live born child at the time of interview.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this rural area with a high HIV prevalence, the reported use of condoms before pregnancy was extremely low. Pregnancy health was not optimal with a high prevalence of malaria, geohelminth infections, anaemia and underweight. Chances of losing a child after birth were high. Multiple interventions are needed to improve reproductive health in this area.</p

Use of antenatal services and delivery care among women in rural western Kenya: a community based survey

BACKGROUND: Improving maternal health is one of the UN Millennium Development Goals. We assessed provision and use of antenatal services and delivery care among women in rural Kenya to determine whether women were receiving appropriate care. METHODS: Population-based cross-sectional survey among women who had recently delivered. RESULTS: Of 635 participants, 90% visited the antenatal clinic (ANC) at least once during their last pregnancy (median number of visits 4). Most women (64%) first visited the ANC in the third trimester; a perceived lack of quality in the ANC was associated with a late first ANC visit (Odds ratio [OR] 1.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0–2.4). Women who did not visit an ANC were more likely to have < 8 years of education (adjusted OR [AOR] 3.0, 95% CI 1.5–6.0), and a low socio-economic status (SES) (AOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.5–5.3). The ANC provision of abdominal palpation, tetanus vaccination and weight measurement were high (>90%), but provision of other services was low, e.g. malaria prevention (21%), iron (53%) and folate (44%) supplementation, syphilis testing (19.4%) and health talks (14.4%). Eighty percent of women delivered outside a health facility; among these, traditional birth attendants assisted 42%, laypersons assisted 36%, while 22% received no assistance. Factors significantly associated with giving birth outside a health facility included: age ≥ 30 years, parity ≥ 5, low SES, < 8 years of education, and > 1 hour walking distance from the health facility. Women who delivered unassisted were more likely to be of parity ≥ 5 (AOR 5.7, 95% CI 2.8–11.6). CONCLUSION: In this rural area, usage of the ANC was high, but this opportunity to deliver important health services was not fully utilized. Use of professional delivery services was low, and almost 1 out of 5 women delivered unassisted. There is an urgent need to improve this dangerous situation

Chinese FDI in the United States is taking off: How to maximize its benefits?

China‘s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) grew rapidly in the past decade, but flows to developed economies have been limited. Now China‘s direct investment flows to the United States are poised to rise substantially. This new trend offers tremendous opportunities for the U. S., provided policymakers take steps to keep the investment environment open and utilize China‘s new interest productively

中国对美国直接投资快速增长：如何获得最大化的收益？

过去十年，中国的对外直接投资快速增长，但对发达经济体的投资十分有限。目前，中国对美国的投资快速增长。如果政策制定者能够采取措施保持开放的投资环境，并有效利用中国新增投资，那么这种新趋势将为美国提供巨大的机遇

Contemporary economic relations between China and European Union

This paper will discuss the economic relations between the European Union and the People’s Republic of China. The introductory part will make an insight into the position of China in the contemporary global economy. The following part of the paper will analyze China-EU trade relations. The topics included will be a general overview of these relations since their establishing in 1975 as well as the European Union’s attitude towards the Chinese WTO membership. The Sino-EU partnership and competition will also be described and it will be followed by an overview of the Sino-EU High Level Economic and Trade Dialogue (HED). The concluding topics in this part of the paper will include Sino-EU trade flows, perceived obstacles to trade and investment as well as recent trade disputes between two trading partners. The third part of the paper will deal with Sino-EU investment flows (with an emphasis on Chinese investments in EU member states). After the introductory remarks concerning the EU investments originating from China, the paper will shed light on particular EU member states which are preferred for Chinese investment as well as the industries in which Chinese companies are willing to invest. The concluding part of this paper will offer possible development of relations between the EU and China in the near future

The 3G standard setting strategy and indigenous innovation policy in China is TD-SCDMA a flagship?

In the time of “network economy”, industries and the public have stressed several “battles for dominance” between two or more rival technologies, often involving well-known firms operating in highly visible industries. In this paper, we are going to focus on the Chinese self-developed standard TD-SCDMA to perceive the implication and target of the nation’s policy and strategy. The motivation of the research starts from the interesting fact we observed: TD-SCDMA is named as the Chinese made standard, however the Chinese hold core patent technology is still about 7%, while most of the rest part is still taken by other foreign companies. The “faultage” between the small share reality and a self made standard sweet dream implies a well plotted strategy. In order to understand it, we firstly raise the question of why the Chinese government postpones the 3G decision again and again. Then we go further to probe why the standard-setting of TD-SCDMA has aroused wide attention as a strategic tool to fulfill “indigenous innovation”, and finally becomes part of national science and technology policy to increase international competitiveness? We are going to use economics theories to understand the essence of the creation of TD-SCDMA, and its relation to China’s interests.3G, standard, innovation, China