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

Revisiting RCEP’s Trade Implications

Jean-Marc F. Blanchard and Wei Liang

This Op-Ed, published in The Diplomat, represents the second in a four-part series contemplating the consequences of RCEP. It specifically reevaluates the trade implications of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which most forecast will have transformative effects on trade within and without the RCEP zone.

Behind the Screen: Understanding National Support for a Foreign Investment Screening Mechanism in the European Union,

Zenobia T. Chan and Sophie Meunier

This article explores variations in European Union (EU) member state preferences for the creation of a pan-European screening framework for foreign direct investment (FDI). The article shows that countries with higher levels of technology are more supportive of an investment screening mechanism (ISM). It also notes that country-level support for FDI screening is sector dependent.

Overcoming the Liability of Foreignness – A New Perspective on Chinese MNCs

Mingchun Cao and Ilan Alon

Studies about the so-called “liability of foreignness” for multinational corporations (MNCs) have given inadequate attention to the impact of “the importance of the firm’s dependence on their parents, subsidiaries, and local resources.” Drawing upon 43 semi-structured interviews with expatriate and local managers of Chinese high-tech MNCs this article identifies six dimensions that influence the liability of foreignness: resource commitment, information flow, resource control, resource integration, local responsiveness, and flexibility of control.

Enhancing SME Participation in Global Value Chains: Determinants, Challenges, and Policy Recommendations

Shujiro Urata

This report studies the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in international trade, particularly global value chains (GVCs). It analyzes 10 Asian countries in order to determine SMEs’ participation in GVCs and identifies relevant obstacles. It further supplies advice to SMEs and governments for facilitating GVC participation. Report recommendations for SMEs include increasing technological capability and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

The New Chinese Dream: Industrial Transition in the Post-Pandemic Era

Francesca Spigarelli and John McIntyre

This book describes the most salient changes confronting key Chinese industry sectors. Set within the context of the Global China 2049 initiative, which aims to transform the country into a fully advanced and developed nation, the book’s contributions focus on industrial policies that are considered to be one of the main determinants of Chinese growth. Looking at sectors such as aviation, healthcare, semiconductors, and other data driven industries, chapters highlight the pitfalls and anticipated successes of Chinese firms operating in the global competitive market.

News Framing of the China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Salman Bahoo and Ilan Alon

This article probes how journalists frame China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Towards this end, it undertakes a qualitative media framing analysis of pieces appearing in The Wall Street Journal and The Economist from January 2012 to June 2019.

Reconsidering RCEP’s Impact on Foreign Investment

Jean-Marc F. Blanchard and Wei Liang

This Op-Ed ponders the implications of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) for foreign direct investment (FDI). It challenges the conventional wisdom that RCEP will result in notable changes in FDI volumes or geographic destination. The piece acknowledges that RCEP entails numerous provisions that create a more friendly environment for FDI or that have the potential to influence the volume and distribution of FDI.

Latin America’s Current Socioeconomic Relationship with China

Enrique Dussel Peters

This chapter focuses on “globalization process with Chinese characteristics” since 2013 and the United States’ response to this challenge, under the heading of “great power competition” and specific initiatives and policies vis-á-vis China and Latin and American and the Caribbean (LAC). The first section of this chapter seeks to improve the quality of LAC–China analysis based on a thematic distinction of this relationship, also integrating explicitly existing research and proposals.

Going Digital Multinationals: Navigating Economic and Social Imperatives in a Post-pandemic World

Niraja Srinivasan and Lorraine Eden

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the economic imperative facing multinational corporations (MNCs); i.e., their need to build commercial resilience in response to Industry 4.0 (4IR). This article examines if “going digital” MNCs that are making substantial investments in 4IR technologies could take a socially proactive stance that would rebuild momentum on the United Nations social imperative—the pledge to leave no one behind by achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Blues: Powering BRI Research Back on Track to Avoid Choppy Seas

Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
This piece examines and critiques the massive literature on China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It details how research currently seems stuck on the road to nowhere. In addition, it identifies a number of the potholes that collective research endeavors are hitting such as that they are poorly synchronized. It also stresses that lines of analysis are proliferating rather than optimizing, with studies broadening in thematic coverage, rather than becoming deeper.

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