Category Archives: Globalization
More on the ivory trade: China announces a one-year ban
Magnus Fiskesjo (Cornell University and NYU-Shanghai) recently posted this update on H-Asia on the recent announcement of a one-year moratorium on ivory imports in China. Also, a New York Times report on it can be found here. The report is … Continue reading
More on the ivory trade in China: can elephants be saved by shanzhai ivory? Probably not.
The latest issue of the journal Biological Conservation features a study by Gao Yufang and Susan Clark, both of Yale University, on the trends and drivers of the ivory trade in China. One of their most interesting arguments is that … Continue reading
“Air Pollution Eventually Controlled”
Beijing is hosting the APEC meetings this week. A good excuse to clean up the air a bit! As reported recently by the New York Times, Thousands of factories have closed and thousands more have been ordered to reduce emissions … Continue reading
The illegal ivory trade in China, courtesy of Xi Jinping
It is well known that China is the world’s number-one destination for illegal ivory. As the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has observed, the gains brought by the International Ivory Trade Ban have been significantly undermined in recent years … Continue reading
The entrepreneurial state in China’s interior
Last week, the New York Times ran an article about how interior governments like Chongqing were wooing coastal industries by offering incentives such as lower wages, cheaper land, less strict environmental standards, and even providing moving expenses. One of the … Continue reading
Shanzhai shopping
Continuing with the shanzhai tourism theme, there’s been a good deal of chatter recently about a new shanzhai shopping street near Wanda Square in Shenyang. The street, built as a ‘European style pedestrian street,’ features shanzhai designer-brand boutiques and cafés. … Continue reading
What to do with $3.2 trillion?
China has the world’s largest storehouse of foreign currency – about $3.2 trillion worth. Much of it is invested in US Treasury bonds, but the EU has recently been making noises about trying to get China to invest some of … Continue reading
Water politics and China
Extending from today’s lecture on water in China and, in particular, the historical role that large-scale water projects have played in ‘building the state’ in China, water-related issues continue to lie at the heart of social and political developments in … Continue reading
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