Many observers viewed the 2nd Belt and Road Forum (BRF) as a time for China to make amends, at least verbally, for the shortcomings of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has been associated with inter alia corruption, excessive debt burdens, environmental damage, opacity, and the displacement of local...
Archives: Blog entries
June 1, 2019
One of the themes given greater attention at the Second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) was the environment. This is evidenced by the fact, as reported in one commentary, that the word “green” appeared seven times in the 2019 BRF Joint Communiqué versus no times in the 2017 one and...
May 1, 2019
At the recent Belt and Road Forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed China would adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption regarding its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Interestingly, Xi mentioned this while refuting charges China was using the “honey pot” of BRI money to take over other country’s valuable assets...
April 3, 2019
There are many sectors in China that are closed or highly-restricted as far as foreign direct investment (FDI) is concerned. Drivers of this include political nationalism, a desire to protect domestic firms, and concerns about economic independence. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, or parts of it, has long...
March 3, 2019
China has long assured others of its intent to open up its financial sector. While it has never been entirely clear what this means, many have expected China not just to let in more foreign companies, but also to let them hold greater ownership stakes in their China operations and...
January 31, 2019
In 2017, it was revealed American electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla had concluded an agreement with Shanghai to build a manufacturing complex in Shanghai that, per Tesla CEO Elon Musk, will be extremely advanced and produce cars customized for the China market. While this was the company’s first major foray...
January 6, 2019
For the past few years, internet giants such as America’s Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn, Japan’s Rakuten, and South Korea’s Naver have been facing an increasingly turbulent operating environment in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR). Many of the challenges they face are widely known. These include pressures from governments to censor and...
December 1, 2018
Chinese outward foreign direct investment (FDI) is not a particularly new story as far as European Union (EU) countries are concerned. As a result of three factors, however, Chinese outward FDI (OFDI) has become a much more sensitive issue One is the massive increase in Chinese investment in the EU...
October 28, 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s late October 2018 visit to China and the 10th Mekong Japan summit that preceded this trip focused renewed spotlight on Japan-China cooperation and competition. Cooperation and competition between East Asia’s two heavyweights also has been a salient topic to those attentive to the Belt and...
September 23, 2018
In 2016, the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union (EU). “Brexit” fueled considerable anxieties in the Japanese business world, which is the second largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK. This was hardly shocking given the latter’s extensive involvement in the UK. But Brexit...
