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Aiming at promoting a new bilateral legal framework for China-EU economic relations without political interference, this paper first surveys the developments of China-Europe economic relations and the relevant legal arrangements since 1949; second, it deals with political issues affecting China-EU economic relations; and third, it discusses basic legal considerations in signing China-EC economic treaties for the Chinese side. The author points out that the China-EC Economic Cooperation Agreement in 1985 has proved insufficient for practical needs and a substitutive agreement should be promoted in the new era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The introduction of non-VKA oral anticoagulants (NOACs), which differ from the earlier vitamin K antagonist (VKA) treatments, has changed the approach to stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF). GLORIA-AF is a prospective, global registry programme describing the selection of antithrombotic treatment in newly diagnosed AF patients at risk of stroke. It comprises three phases: Phase I, before the introduction of NOACs; Phase II, during the time of the introduction of dabigatran, the first NOAC; and Phase III, once NOACs have been established in clinical practice.Methods and Results: In Phase I, 1063 patients were eligible from the 1100 enrolled (54.3% male; median age 70 years); patients were from China (67.1%), Europe (EU; 27.4%), and the Middle East (ME; 5.6%). The majority of patients using VKAs had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc ≥ 2; 86.5%); 13.5% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Vitamin K antagonist use was higher for persistent/permanent AF (47.7%) than that for paroxysmal (23.9%). Most patients in China were treated with antiplatelet agents (53.7%) vs. 27.1% in EU and 28.8% in ME. In China, 25.9% of patients had no antithrombotic therapy, vs. 8.6% in EU and 8.5% in ME.Conclusion: Phase I of GLORIA-AF shows that VKAs were mostly used in patients with persistent/permanent (vs. paroxysmal) AF and in those with high stroke risk. Furthermore, there were meaningful geographical differences in the use of VKA therapy in the era before the availability of NOACs, including a much lower use of VKAs in China, where most patients either received antiplatelet agents or no antithrombotic treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the role of missionaries and musical instruments in the cultural convergence between China and Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Political conditions and philosophical attitudes that combined to provide a fertile backdrop for cultural exchange; Analysis of pertinent topics and relevant issues; Implications on studies of early music.

Words and the concepts they express exert a powerful influence on political debate and policy decisions in transition economies. In this introductory essay, the principal architect of the first radical reform programme in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall develops a lexicon of common fallacies in the political debate, and introduces many of the main themes of the volume. One common fallacy is that of country-specificity: 'Ukraine is different; what worked or did not work elsewhere is not relevant here.' Some countries may indeed have specific economic problems (viz the huge military-industrial sector in Ukraine), but economic theory is clear about which policies are best for basic problems: macroeconomic stabilization as the appropriate response to hyperinflation; price liberalization anti liberalization of supply are the prescribed therapy for massive shortages, etc. So there are useful lessons to be learned from prior experience. By the same token, erroneous interpretation of those experiences can give credence to mistaken policy arguments. For example, the argument that whatever has been done before in the West must be right is, itself clearly wrong. Similarly, Balcerowicz argues that China's success does not prove the universal merits of gradualism; the agricultural reforms of the late 1970s in China were in practice surprisingly radical. The essay identifies many other pitfalls in reasoning about transition experience, several having to do with the failure to apply ceteris paribus reasoning. For example, the fall in output in 1991 in all the countries connected with the former Soviet Union (including Finland) was caused in large part by the collapse of their trade with the Union, and certainly not exclusively by the policies they followed. There are numerous other examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]