China Studies Review

In our first section, we introduce three short pieces that examine important issues in U.S.-China investment relations, public opinion in China and Japan, and the Hong Kong pro-democracy move-ment. Benjamin Pollock examines the progression of negotiations between the United States and China in adopting a high-quality bilateral investment treaty. Cheng Zhang uses data from Genron to understand the reasons behind mutual dis-trust between China and Japan. Adrienne Dalton looks at the role of Hong Kong triads in the suppression of the 2014 Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrations. Our second section features six research articles covering a wide range of topics. Jakob Bund explores U.S.-China relations in cyberspace and provides an alternative framework by which the two countries can cooperate in the absence of trust. Patrick Lozada discusses China’s “creative indus-tries”, and the shortcomings of China’s creative special economic zones in foster-ing an innovation economy. David Rubin builds upon Bruce Gilley’s spectrum of democratic and authoritarian environ-mentalism and finds that in the context of environmental policymaking, China is transitioning towards more inclusivity and grassroots engagement. Peter Kim also examines China’s environmental policy and uses dust and sandstorms, also known as “yellow dust”, to examine the challenges and opportunities for environmental coop-eration in Northeast Asia. Shuxian Luo conducts a comparative analysis of China and India’s naval modernization efforts, noting that while China’s rapid economic development has spurred its naval modern-ization at a more rapid pace, there are other important elements such as differing threat perceptions and alliance options that help to explain India’s relative lag in naval mod-ernization. Finally, Winston Kung presents a Taiwan Straits crisis scenario analysis that examines the legal, diplomatic, strategic, and domestic opinion factors that would likely affect a U.S. response, concluding that U.S. diplomatic and military leverage would eventually lead China and Taiwan to de-escalate tensions in the region

Costs, Technology, and Productivity in the U.S. Automobile Industry

This article analyzes the structure of costs, technology, and productivity in the U.S. automobile industry by estimating a general hedonic joint cost function for domestic automotive production for the Big Three American automobile producers: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. In general it is found that costs are highly sensitive to the scale and composition of output, with General Motors and Chrysler experiencing an output configuration that exhibits increasing returns to scale and economies of joint production. On the other hand, Chrysler's recent productivity growth is found to be far below that of General Motors. Although Ford's cost structure is not so advantageous as General Motors', its recent productivity growth suggests that it can remain an effective competitor in the domestic automotive market.

A Genome-wide siRNA Screen Identifies Proteasome Addiction as a Vulnerability of Basal-like Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Basal-like triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) have poor prognosis. To identify basal-like TNBC dependencies, a genome-wide siRNA lethality screen compared two human breast epithelial cell lines transformed with the same genes: basal-like BPLER and myoepithelial HMLER. Expression of the screen’s 154 BPLER dependency genes correlated with poor prognosis in breast, but not lung or colon, cancer. Proteasome genes were overrepresented hits. Basal-like TNBC lines were selectively sensitive to proteasome inhibitor drugs relative to normal epithelial, luminal, and mesenchymal TNBC lines. Proteasome inhibition reduced growth of established basal-like TNBC tumors in mice and blocked tumor-initiating cell function and macrometastasis. Proteasome addiction in basal-like TNBCs was mediated by NOXA and linked to MCL-1 dependence. •Basal-like TNBC cell lines are addicted to the proteasome and MCL-1•Proteasome inhibition blocks T-IC functions in basal-like TNBCs•Proteasome addiction in these cells is mediated by NOXA and linked to MCL-1•Proteasome inhibitors inhibit basal-like tumor growth and metastasis in mic