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The oil-rich Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have rapidly expanded their economic relations with Asian countries recently, particularly China and India. The main reason behind this development is that the regions complement each other in several dimensions. China and India are the fastest-growing, oil-consuming nations in the world, while GCC countries have the largest proven deposits of oil and gas. The GCC is interested in China and India as reliable oil customers over the long-run and the latter look at the GCC as reliable suppliers of oil and gas. The two regions are also attracted to each other because both are enjoying strong economic growth and offer many investment opportunities to the other. It is expected that GCC economic relations with China and India will grow stronger in the coming decades and serve as a good example of South-South economic cooperation for other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the effects of regional integration in Laos, with a focus on China. Laos has recorded impressive growth over the past decade but remains one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. The paper examines Laos' position within the region and traces changes in its situation, particularly its evolving relationship with China, by analysing its changing trade and investment relationships with China and the two other important neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam. The paper draws implications about what these changes will mean for Laos' development trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its role as a driver of global economic growth through the 1970s, in recent decades the rise of China has seen the international importance of Japan's economic performance recede from the public discourse. This is notwithstanding its continuing key role as economic partner to both industrial and developing countries and changes in its economic performance that would otherwise be a matter for global concern. In particular, the tendency for the Japanese economy and its external trade to stagnate not only has immediate consequences for global performance but also foreshadows a path to industrial transition for other key Asian economies. This paper reviews quantitative studies of Japan's performance. It identifies a paucity of results addressing global implications and suggests new research in this direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]