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MNCs in the News

MNCs in the News-2019-09-13
September 16th, 2019
Despite the United States (US)-China trade war, renowned economist highlights that US firms continue to remain in China because of the attractiveness of China as well as limits associated with the alternatives. During a meeting with a Japanese business delegation, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang welcomes more Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) in China. Although it decreased compared to 2017, Chinese outward FDI in 2018 was the second highest globally after Japan. China is moving to expand “internet plus healthcare...
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MNCs in the News-2019-09-06
September 9th, 2019
On the eve of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to China, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) reports German foreign direct investment (FDI) in China grew more than 60 percent over the first seven months of 2019 year-over-year. Chinese media delivered some packaged criticisms against FedEx for the latter’s alleged shipments of controlled goods and rerouting of packages destined for Huawei. Relatively small-scale protests took place in three Kazakhstan cities against potentially questionable Chinese factory...
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Wong MNC Center News

Executive Director Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard gives invited speech for “China Crossroads” Talk Series (Shanghai, China)
June 1st, 2019
On May 29, Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations gave a speech entitled “Belt and Road, Neither Boom nor Bust: The Continuing Relevance of Politics and Economics” for the popular “China Crossroads” Talk Series. Dr. Blanchard addressed the heated debate about if China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is booming, on the road to stagnation, or, worse, failure and sought avoid the...
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Executive Director Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard gives invited talk for UNNC Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Distinguished Speaker Series (Ningbo, China)
June 1st, 2019
On May 8, the Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard was invited to give a talk for the University of Ningbo Nottingham China (UNNC) Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Distinguished Speaker Series. Dr. Blanchard spoke about China and Global Economic Governance (GEG), specifically focusing on China’s stance towards inward foreign direct investment (FDI) as a way to gauge...
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2018-10 Global Backlash Conference Offers Valuable Insights into National and Corporate Efforts to Cope with Anti-Globalization
October 29th, 2018
In late October, the one-and-a-half-day Global Backlash conference, hosted by UC Berkeley and co-organized by the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations (Wong MNC Center), Berkeley APEC Studies Center (BASC), and Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC), took place at the University of California, Berkeley (USA). During the first day, participants, including academics and former and current policymakers, from China, Korea, India,...
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Executive Director Jean-Marc F. Blanchard presents paper at 2018-09-21 Workshop on China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative, Africa, and Middle East
September 30th, 2018
On September 21, 2018, the Mr. & Mr. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporation (Wong MNC Center) and the University of Nottingham, Ningbo jointly held a workshop on China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRSI), Africa, and the Middle East. The workshop reviewed the progress of the MSRSI, examined the role of Djibouti in the MSRI (David Styan), contemplated relations between the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and China within the context...
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Executive Director Jean-Marc F. Blanchard Gives Speech at “2018 June 20th (2018) China Venture Capital & Private Equity Forum”
June 25th, 2018
Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, the Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations (Wong MNC Center), gave a keynote speech on June 10 at the 20th China Venture Capital & Private Equity Forum in Shenzhen, China at a panel that considered how to enhance business, scientific and technical, and other forms of cooperation in the Guangdong-Macao-Hong Kong (China) Greater Bay Area (粤港澳大湾区). During his presentation...
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Executive Director Jean-Marc F. Blanchard gives speech at 2018 April 18 UNIDO Conference
May 26th, 2018
On April 18, 2018, Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations gave a speech at a United Nation's Industrial and Development Organization (UNIDO) conference (in Shanghai, China) entitled "Fostering Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID) in the New Silk Road Economic Belt: Leveraging potentials of Industrial Parks, Zones, and Cities." The title of Dr. Blanchard's...
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Executive Director Jean-Marc F. Blanchard gives keynote speech at 2nd Silicon Valley-Beijing Internet of Things Summit
January 16th, 2018
On January 13, 2018, Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations (Wong MNC Center) gave a keynote speech at the 2nd Silicon Valley-Beijing Internet of Things Summit & Investment and Financing Competition on a panel entitled “Design for Manufacturing.” The title of Dr. Blanchard’s speech was “The Political Environment Surrounding Chinese Expansion in Silicon Valley.” In his...
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Wong MNC Center "The Political Economy of China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI), Africa, and the Middle East" Conference a Big Success
November 22nd, 2017
On November 18 and 19, 2017, the "Political Economy of China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI), Africa, and the Middle East" conference was held in Shanghai, China. The conference, orchestrated and co-sponsored by the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations (Wong MNC Center) and hosted and co-sponsored by the School of Advanced International and Area Studies (SAIAS) at East China Normal University (ECNU), attracted scholars and...
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Executive Director Jean-Marc F. Blanchard interviewed by South China Morning Post about China Investment Corporation
August 30th, 2017
South China Morning Post reporter Frank Tang interviewed Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations, for a story relating to the 10th anniversary of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), China's massive sovereign wealth fund. Dr. Blanchard shared his insights about the CIC's objectives, investment portfolio, and investment performance. Dr. Blanchard noted that the CIC remained...
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Executive Director Blanchard becomes editor of the Palgrave Studies in Asia-Pacific Political Economy series
September 28th, 2015
The Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations Jean-Marc F. Blanchard has become the editor of the Palgrave Studies in Asia-Pacific Political Economy series. The series aims to publish works, which will be meaningful to academics, businesspeople, and policymakers and broaden or deepen their knowledge about contemporary events or significant trends, or enable them to think in new ways about the interaction of...
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Wong MNC Center Publications & Sponsored Publications

“Myanmar’s Role in China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative”

J. Mohan Malik

This article argues that the origins and theoretical underpinnings of Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative can actually be traced back to the mid-1980s, that is, almost three decades before the official media unveiled the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI). It examines the changing role of Myanmar in China’s grand strategy in general and in MSRI in particular by undertaking an investigation of trade and investment relations. This analysis of the geo-economic and geo-strategic implications of MSRI is undertaken in order to offer a prognosis of benefits and costs for Myanmar.

“Regional Responses to China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative in Southeast Asia”

Shaofeng Chen

Southeast Asia has sat atop China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI). By and large, most Southeast Asian countries hailed China’s MSRI, but their responses to it have some variances. The article aims to analyze why they have differing responses. It contends that the primary determinant is changing domestic politics, specifically, ruling elites’ policy priority, degree of trust of China, leaders’ ideology and preference, and social response.

Publications of Wong MNC Center Staff, Advisory Board, and Research Fellows

“China and the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI): Contested multilateralism and innovative institution-building"

Wei Liang

What drives China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? Why did China decide to create new ‘parallel’ multilateral institutions instead of utilizing existing ones to pursue its objectives? This chapter provides a qualitative assessment of China’s multifaceted influence as donor, financer and investor, and more importantly, a new institution designer in BRI countries. By examining China’s Belt and Road Initiative, I argue that China might be challenging aspects of US dominance or preferences in some cases, but is still supportive of the neoliberal international order.

“Chinese Direct Investment in Europe: Economic Opportunities and Political Challenges”

Sophie Meunier

Over the past decade, China has become one of the largest senders of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world, including in the European Union (EU). Why did this rapid surge happen and how did European countries react politically to this new phenomenon, which some have presented as unprecedented and even dangerous? After surveying the recent evolution of Chinese FDI in Europe, this chapter analyzes the match between Chinese demand for European assets and European supply of assets after the outbreak of the euro crisis.

Data Snapshots, Rankings, and Indexes

Click to enlarge displayed image

Japanese FDI Flows to Southeast Asian Countries Not Reaching Old Highs
China-Japan FDI flows seem little correlated with other economic flows
U.S. FDI in China continues to Increase in the Aggregate and in Most Sectors

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