Magyar tulajdonú vállalatok versenyképessége kínai piacokon = Hungarian Firms’ Competitiveness in China

E kutatás célja áttekinteni, hogy milyen jellegű gazdasági kapcsolatokkal, versenyképességgel, tapasztalatokkal rendelkeznek magyar tulajdonú vállalatok Kínában. Kína gazdasága globálisan meghatározó, s egyúttal Magyarország tíz legnagyobb külkereskedelmi partnere között van. A kutatás kiemelt kérdései (a) milyen okok, motivációk indítják el a hazai cégeket Kína felé; (b) milyen folyamat révén, hogyan, mennyi idő alatt, milyen ráfordításokkal zajlik le a kínai jelenlét előkészítése, megtervezése, majd pedig megvalósítása; (c) hogyan szerzik meg a vezetők a szükséges információkat (pl. lehetséges kínai társasági jogi formákról, lokációkról); (d) milyen eredményekkel zárul ez a folyamat és milyen tanulságokat szűrnek le a vezetők; (e) melyek a kínai piaci jelenlét, működés legfontosabb tapasztalatai. A fenti kérdésekre alapvetően öt hazai vállalati esettanulmány összegzése ad választ. De emellett jelen tanulmány része a releváns elméleti és gyakorlati szakirodalom feldolgozása, a kínai gazdasági környezet sokrétű bemutatása, a kínai és magyar gazdasági kapcsolatok statisztikai elemzése, külföldi benchmark adatok gyűjtése. _______ The goal of this research to review what kind of economic relations, competitiveness and experiences Hungarian-owned firms have in China. Chinese economy is globally determining, and – in addition – China is one of Hungary’s ten biggest foreign trade partners. The main topics and questions of the research are: (a) what causes and motives encourage domestic companies to turn to the Chinese markets; (b) what are the phases of the process, what are the required time and costs of the preparation, planning and realization of establishing the presence in China; (c) how Hungarian managers gather the information needed (concerning e.g. possible Chinese corporate legal forms, locations); (d) what are the typical results of these processes and the lessons learned and emphasized by the managers; (e) what are the most important experiences of the firms’ operation in China. Five case studies on Hungarian firms answer the above-mentioned questions. But moreover the elaboration of the relevant theoretical and practical literature, the detailed description of the Chinese economical environment, the statistical analysis of the Chinese-Hungarian economical relations and the collection of foreign benchmark data are as well parts of this study.

Pivot or periphery? Xinjiang's regional development and Chinese-Central Asian relations at the century's end

Xinjiang, once described by Owen Lattimore as the "pivot of Asia", has played a strategically important role in China's national defense and security. Historically linked on the famous Silk Road with Central Asia, Xinjiang was crucial to East-West economic and cultural exchanges. During the period of Russian/Soviet expansion into Central Asia and Sino-Soviet rivalry, China's need for Xinjiang's defense and territorial integrity became paramount, and consequently Xinjiang's economy was relegated to the periphery.^ The demise of the Soviet Union--which resulted in the independence of five Central Asian states--and China's reform suggest dramatic new possibilities for Xinjiang's regional development as well as interregional cooperation. As China has begun to shift regional emphasis to the interior, Xinjiang's economic development will be accelerated. With the growth of Sino/Xinjiang-Central Asian relations, Xinjiang's importance will not only be borne out in terms of defense and security, but more significantly in terms of trade and economics. At the century's end and the beginning of the 21st century, Xinjiang will likely move away from the periphery and play an increasingly pivotal role in the economy. ^

Understanding China's climate change mitigation policy development: Structures, processes and outcomes

Climate change is one of the most important and urgent issues of our time. Since 2006, China has overtaken the United States as the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter. China’s role in an international climate change solution has gained increased attention. Although much literature has addressed the functioning, performance, and implications of existing climate change mitigation policies and actions in China, there is insufficient literature that illuminates how the national climate change mitigation policies have been formulated and shaped. This research utilizes the policy network approach to explore China’s climate change mitigation policy making by examining how a variety of government, business, and civil society actors have formed networks to address environmental contexts and influence the policy outcomes and changes. The study is qualitative in nature. Three cases are selected to illustrate structural and interactive features of the specific policy network settings in shaping different policy arrangements and influencing the outcomes in the Chinese context. The three cases include the regulatory evolution of China’s climate change policy making; the country’s involvement in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) activity, and China’s exploration of voluntary agreement through adopting the Top-1000 Industrial Energy Conservation Program. The historical analysis of the policy process uses both primary data from interviews and fieldwork, and secondary data from relevant literature. The study finds that the Chinese central government dominates domestic climate change policy making; however, expanded action networks that involve actors at all levels have emerged in correspondence to diverse climate mitigation policy arrangements. The improved openness and accessibility of climate change policy network have contributed to its proactive engagement in promoting mitigation outcomes. In conclusion, the research suggests that the policy network approach provides a useful tool for studying China’s climate change policy making process. The involvement of various types of state and non-state actors has shaped new relations and affected the policy outcomes and changes. In addition, through the cross-case analysis, the study challenges the “fragmented authoritarianism” model and argues that this once-influential model is not appropriate in explaining new development and changes of policy making processes in contemporary China.

Latin America and the Caribbean in 2011 and Beyond: A conversation among Latin America and Caribbean Specialists.

For the first time in more than fifty years, the domestic and external conflicts in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are not primarily ideological in nature. Democracy continues to thrive and its promise still inspires hope. In contrast, the illegal production, consumption, and trading of drugs – and its links to criminal gangs and organizations – represent major challenges to the region, undermining several States’ already weak capacity to govern. While LAC macroeconomic stability has remained resilient, illegal economies fill the region, often offering what some States have not historically been able to provide – elements of human security, opportunities for social mobility, and basic survival. Areas controlled by drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are now found in Central America, Mexico, and the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, reflecting their competition for land routes and production areas. Cartels such as La Familia, Los Zetas, and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC-Brazil), among others, operate like trade and financial enterprises that manage millions of dollars and resources, demonstrating significant business skills in adapting to changing circumstances. They are also merciless in their application of violence to preserve their lucrative enterprises. The El Salvador-Guatemala-Honduras triangle in Central America is now the most violent region in the world, surpassing regions in Africa that have been torn by civil strife for years. In Brazil’s favelas and Guatemala’s Petén region, the military is leaving the barracks again; not to rule, however, but to supplement and even replace the law enforcement capacity of weak and discredited police forces. This will challenge the military to apply lessons learned during the course of their experience in government, or from the civil wars that plagued the region for nearly 50 years during the Cold War. Will they be able to conduct themselves according to the professional ethics that have been inculcated over the past 20 years without incurring violations of human rights? Belief in their potential to do good is high according to many polls as the Armed Forces still enjoy a favorable perception in most societies, despite frequent involvement in corruption. Calling them to fight DTOs, however, may bring them too close to the illegal activities they are being asked to resist, or even rekindle the view that only a “strong hand” can resolve national troubles. The challenge of governance is occurring as contrasts within the region are becoming sharper. There is an increasing gap between nations positioned to surpass their “developing nation” status and those that are practically imploding as the judicial, political and enforcement institutions fall further into the quagmire of illicit activities. Several South American nations are advancing their political and economic development. Brazil in particular has realized macro-economic stability, made impressive gains in poverty reduction, and is on track to potentially become a significant oil producer. It is also an increasingly influential power, much closer to the heralded “emerging power” category that it aspired to for most of the 20th century. In contrast, several Central American States have become so structurally deficient, and have garnered such limited legitimacy, that their countries have devolved into patches of State controlled and non-State-controlled territory, becoming increasingly vulnerable to DTO entrenchment. In the Caribbean, the drug and human trafficking business also thrives. Small and larger countries are experiencing the growing impact of illicit economies and accompanying crime and violence. Among these, Guyana and Suriname face greater uncertainty, as they juggle both their internal affairs and their relations with Brazil and Venezuela. Cuba also faces new challenges as it continues focusing on internal rather than external affairs and attempts to ensure a stable leadership succession while simultaneously trying to reform its economy. Loosening the regime’s tight grip on the economy while continuing to curtail citizen’s civil rights will test the leadership’s ability to manage change and prevent a potential socio-economic crisis from turning into an existential threat. Cuba’s past ideological zest is now in the hands of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, who continues his attempts to bring the region together under Venezuelan leadership ideologically based on a “Bolivarian” anti-U.S. banner, without much success. The environment and natural disasters will merit more attention in the coming years. Natural events will produce increasing scales of destruction as the States in the region fail to maintain and expand existing infrastructure to withstand such calamities and respond to their effects. Prospects for earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes are high, particularly in the Caribbean. In addition, there are growing rates of deforestation in nearly every country, along with a potential increase in cross-sector competition for resources. The losers might be small farmers, due to their inability to produce quantities commensurate to larger conglomerates. Regulations that could mitigate these types of situations are lacking or openly violated with near impunity. Indigenous and other vulnerable populations, including African descendants, in several Andean countries, are particularly affected by the increasing extraction of natural resources taking place amongst their terrain. This has led to protests against extraction activities that negatively affect their livelihoods, and in the process, these historically underprivileged groups have transitioned from agenda-based organization to one that is bringing its claims and grievances to the national political agenda, becoming more politically engaged. Symptomatic of these social issues is the region’s chronically poor quality of education that has consistently failed to reduce inequality and prepare new generations for jobs in the competitive global economy, particularly the more vulnerable populations. Simultaneously, the educational deficit is also exacerbated by the erosion of access to information and freedom of the press. The international panorama is also in flux. New security entities are challenging the old establishment. The Union of South American Nations, The South American Defense Council, the socialist Bolivarian Alliance, and other entities seem to be defying the Organization of American States and its own defense mechanisms, and excluding the U.S. And the U.S.’s attention to areas in conflict, namely Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan – rather than to the more stable Latin America and Caribbean – has left ample room for other actors to elbow in. China is now the top trading partner for Brazil. Russian and Iran are also finding new partnerships in the region, yet their links appear more politically inclined than those of China. Finally, the aforementioned increasing commercial ties by LAC States with China have accelerated a return to the preponderance of commodities as sources of income for their economies. The increased extraction of raw material for export will produce greater concern over the environmental impact that is created by the exploitation of natural resources. These expanded trade opportunities may prove counterproductive economically for countries in the region, particularly for Brazil and Chile, two countries whose economic policies have long sought diversification from dependence on commodities to the development of service and technology based industries.

China's Building of a Blue-Water Fleet

In recent years the People’s Republic of China has begun to exhibit a more aggressive naval policy as a result of its decision to switch its naval force from a primarily green-water fleet (coastal) to a blue-water fleet (expeditionary) (“China’s New,” n.d.). This decision has brought China to loggerheads not only with other local East and South Asian powers such as India and Japan, but also with the predominant blue-water power of the world, the United States, that sees its supremacy threatened (“When Grand,” n.d.). Why would China embark on a route that would pit it against the world naval superpower, the United States, which has a huge lead on China in terms of naval blue-water power? Why would China try to challenge and match the U.S. Navy’s eleven aircraft carriers (“The World’s,” n.d.)? What could compel China to embark on a plan that would so disrupt the balance of power in the waters around Asia? To fully understand the Chinese government’s decision, one must first look at Chinese import figures and Chinese trade routes.

Morphometry and biomass of the cultured mangrove oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae at the Urindeua river, eastern Amazonia, northern Brazil

The malacocultura, particularly oyster farming, appears on the world stage as one of the most viable alternatives to fishing decline and supply of fresh product. In Brazil, the development of mollusc cultivationis through the genus oyster cultivation Crassostrea, among them Crassostrea rhizophorae (Guilding, 1828), known for oyster-the-swamp, one of the main species of farmed bivalves in the state of Pará. This so it aimed to characterize the biomorphometrics relations, estimate the Shape Stabilization Index (IEF) of the shell and the yield of edible meat C. rhizophorae grown in an Amazonian coast, state of Pará, northern Brazil. When all is sampled 1,028 individuals, in April 2016, measuring the external morphometric measures (length, width and height) and total and visceral biomass. The results obtained are C. rhizophorae with (1) excellent biomorphometrics relationships among both external measures, the measures of the shell and biomass generating equations that satisfy morphometric pet species, (2) yield of edible meat 15% of the total biomass and variation in the shell along its development to adulthood, with a tendency to stabilize the reach 60mm in length.

Exploring the relationship between women’s empowerment and the internet in China: potentials and constraints

This thesis reports on an exploratory study of the relationship between the Internet and women’s empowerment in China. The theoretical framework of the study combines feminist theorisations of power – the core concept of empowerment – with insights from sociological perspectives on power and gender, as well as collective action theory. This allows for the conceptualisation of women’s empowerment as a dynamic process that is shaped by a set of communicative practices. Focusing on female Chinese bloggers and women’s groups of different organisational types, this study aims to explore the respective ways in which these two types of women actors use the Internet with a view to examining whether, and the extent to which it enables them to generate a sense of empowerment. The empirical data mainly derives from interviews with female bloggers and with staff members from different women’s groups, as well as from a features analysis and social network analysis of the sampled blogs and official websites of studied groups. Overall, the findings suggest that the opportunities offered by the Internet for women’s empowerment through awareness-raising, social interactions, and the organising of collective action, are limited. For female bloggers, their activities do not translate the new communicative practices afforded by the Internet into concrete action to bring about changes in their everyday life. On the contrary, blogs become an alternative platform to discipline their behaviours and to reinforce patriarchal gendered norms. Moreover, the research finds that the promise of empowerment is further undermined by the pervasive commercialisation of the Internet and state control. For women’s groups, contextual factors prevent them from fully realising the potential of the Internet for increasing their organisational visibility, promoting public awareness about gender issues, building a sense of the collective, campaigning, or networking. The major barriers in these processes are state control, a lack of resources, online censorship, and at times, competition from commercial sites. In this respect, the Internet does not play a significant role in forming a collective to challenge existing unjust power relations.

La traducción de la literatura china en España

En general, España es un país que no tiene una tradición sólida en la sinología. La traducción de la literatura china en España todavía no llega a un nivel satisfactorio y muchas obras originales todavía siguen sumidas en el desconocimiento. En comparación con los flujos de traducción de las obras occidentales, sobre todo las obras literarias de Gran Bretaña, Francia y Estados Unidos, la traducción de aquellas todavía ocupa una cuota reducida. En la recepción de la narrativa china en España, la traducción indirecta ha desempeñado un papel de suma importancia, lo que se debe en gran medida a la dependencia del círculo editorial español de las culturas europeas de poder. Esta situación desequilibrada pone de manifiesto las relaciones asimétricas entre lenguas y culturas.

Ventajas de aplicar la triangulación empresarial entre España, China y América Latina. Una relación win-win para todos los polos

España tiene la oportunidad de desempeñar un papel importante en el proceso de internacionalización de las empresas chinas hacia Europa y América Latina gracias a la histórica experiencia de las multinacionales españolas en estas regiones. Puesto que las relaciones diplomáticas entre España y China gozan de buena sintonía, si España aprovecha la posición de privilegio respecto al resto de economías europeas, el gigante asiático podría estar interesado en el apoyo de España en América Latina, propiciando así la implantación de iniciativas de cooperación entre los tres polos. Los puntos clave para construir una relación win-win en clave triangular es la importancia de un socio local para profundizar en su despliegue internacional en América Latina, que las empresas chinas requieren, además del expertise y know-how necesarios en los procesos operativos, siendo en estos ámbitos las empresas españolas las mejor posicionadas.

At the dawn of Italo-Chinese modern relations: Ludovico Nocentini's experience

In 1904 Ludovico Nocentini described China as a hub of colonial and commercial development for European powers. Europe in the Far East and the Italian Interests in China was Nocentini’s last and most critical book, in which he compared the performance of the Italian government with that of other countries and showed Rome’s inefficiency overseas. The book expatiated on the “carving up” of China into spheres of influence by the Western powers, while examining how the Italian government’s scant regard for the definition and pursuit of the country’s national interest jeopardized not only the development of its colonial policy, but also its foreign trade and industrial progress.

Tianjin sales of land by auctions:Italian Colonialism in the early twentieth century China

s a signatory to the Boxer Protocol in 1901, Italy came into possession of the Tianjin concession, its only colonial possession in China. The Italian settlement was situated on the Hai River, and most of the land consisted of cemeteries and salt deposits. Italian administration of the settlement encountered many difficulties. Expropriation of land from the Chinese occupants was not easy, and it proved equally difficult to attract Italian investors. However despite the fact that Italian public opinion supported the abandonment of the concession, the Italian government was ultimately obliged to undertake a project for its urban development. Success in Tianjin became a national challenge for Italy, with the National Trust providing the necessary economic support. The history of the Italian settlement in Tianjin therefore sheds light on the politics of colonialism and on Italy's economic and political agendas at the turn of the twentieth century.

Las relaciones económicas y comerciales entre América Latina y Asia-Pacífico: el vínculo con China

Incluye Bibliografía

Capital 2.0 capital formation and legal risk in a new global economic order from fiat to exit: including case studies of the proposed transatlantic trade and investment partnership between the United States and the European Union and the financing relation between the United States and the People’s Republic of China

Following the intrinsically linked balance sheets in his Capital Formation Life Cycle, Lukas M. Stahl explains with his Triple A Model of Accounting, Allocation and Accountability the stages of the Capital Formation process from FIAT to EXIT. Based on the theoretical foundations of legal risk laid by the International Bar Association with the help of Roger McCormick and legal scholars such as Joanna Benjamin, Matthew Whalley and Tobias Mahler, and founded on the basis of Wesley Hohfeld’s category theory of jural relations, Stahl develops his mutually exclusive Four Determinants of Legal Risk of Law, Lack of Right, Liability and Limitation. Those Four Determinants of Legal Risk allow us to apply, assess, and precisely describe the respective legal risk at all stages of the Capital Formation Life Cycle as demonstrated in case studies of nine industry verticals of the proposed and currently negotiated Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States of America and the European Union, TTIP, as well as in the case of the often cited financing relation between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Having established the Four Determinants of Legal Risk and its application to the Capital Formation Life Cycle, Stahl then explores the theoretical foundations of capital formation, their historical basis in classical and neo-classical economics and its forefathers such as The Austrians around Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich von Hayek and most notably and controversial, Karl Marx, and their impact on today’s exponential expansion of capital formation. Starting off with the first pillar of his Triple A Model, Accounting, Stahl then moves on to explain the Three Factors of Capital Formation, Man, Machines and Money and shows how “value-added” is created with respect to the non-monetary capital factors of human resources and industrial production. Followed by a detailed analysis discussing the roles of the Three Actors of Monetary Capital Formation, Central Banks, Commercial Banks and Citizens Stahl readily dismisses a number of myths regarding the creation of money providing in-depth insight into the workings of monetary policy makers, their institutions and ultimate beneficiaries, the corporate and consumer citizens. In his second pillar, Allocation, Stahl continues his analysis of the balance sheets of the Capital Formation Life Cycle by discussing the role of The Five Key Accounts of Monetary Capital Formation, the Sovereign, Financial, Corporate, Private and International account of Monetary Capital Formation and the associated legal risks in the allocation of capital pursuant to his Four Determinants of Legal Risk. In his third pillar, Accountability, Stahl discusses the ever recurring Crisis-Reaction-Acceleration-Sequence-History, in short: CRASH, since the beginning of the millennium starting with the dot-com crash at the turn of the millennium, followed seven years later by the financial crisis of 2008 and the dislocations in the global economy we are facing another seven years later today in 2015 with several sordid debt restructurings under way and hundred thousands of refugees on the way caused by war and increasing inequality. Together with the regulatory reactions they have caused in the form of so-called landmark legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, the JOBS Act of 2012 or the introduction of the Basel Accords, Basel II in 2004 and III in 2010, the European Financial Stability Facility of 2010, the European Stability Mechanism of 2012 and the European Banking Union of 2013, Stahl analyses the acceleration in size and scope of crises that appears to find often seemingly helpless bureaucratic responses, the inherent legal risks and the complete lack of accountability on part of those responsible. Stahl argues that the order of the day requires to address the root cause of the problems in the form of two fundamental design defects of our Global Economic Order, namely our monetary and judicial order. Inspired by a 1933 plan of nine University of Chicago economists abolishing the fractional reserve system, he proposes the introduction of Sovereign Money as a prerequisite to void misallocations by way of judicial order in the course of domestic and transnational insolvency proceedings including the restructuring of sovereign debt throughout the entire monetary system back to its origin without causing domino effects of banking collapses and failed financial institutions. In recognizing Austrian-American economist Schumpeter’s Concept of Creative Destruction, as a process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one, Stahl responds to Schumpeter’s economic chemotherapy with his Concept of Equitable Default mimicking an immunotherapy that strengthens the corpus economicus own immune system by providing for the judicial authority to terminate precisely those misallocations that have proven malignant causing default perusing the century old common law concept of equity that allows for the equitable reformation, rescission or restitution of contract by way of judicial order. Following a review of the proposed mechanisms of transnational dispute resolution and current court systems with transnational jurisdiction, Stahl advocates as a first step in order to complete the Capital Formation Life Cycle from FIAT, the creation of money by way of credit, to EXIT, the termination of money by way of judicial order, the institution of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Court constituted by a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of International Trade and the European Court of Justice by following the model of the EFTA Court of the European Free Trade Association. Since the first time his proposal has been made public in June of 2014 after being discussed in academic circles since 2011, his or similar proposals have found numerous public supporters. Most notably, the former Vice President of the European Parliament, David Martin, has tabled an amendment in June 2015 in the course of the negotiations on TTIP calling for an independent judicial body and the Member of the European Commission, Cecilia Malmström, has presented her proposal of an International Investment Court on September 16, 2015. Stahl concludes, that for the first time in the history of our generation it appears that there is a real opportunity for reform of our Global Economic Order by curing the two fundamental design defects of our monetary order and judicial order with the abolition of the fractional reserve system and the introduction of Sovereign Money and the institution of a democratically elected Transatlantic Trade and Investment Court that commensurate with its jurisdiction extending to cases concerning the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership may complete the Capital Formation Life Cycle resolving cases of default with the transnational judicial authority for terminal resolution of misallocations in a New Global Economic Order without the ensuing dangers of systemic collapse from FIAT to EXIT.

The Impact of Global English in Xinjiang, China: Linguistic Capital and Identity Negotiation among the Ethnic Minority and Han Chinese Students

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Under The Dual System: Children Of Rural-Hukou Migrants In China

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06