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Nowadays, increased attention is being paid to the causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth. This paper attempts to examine the causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth for China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei agglomeration, using annual data covering the period 1982-2008. In this study, unit root tests, the Johansen co-integration test, and the Granger causality test are applied. The empirical results indicate that the two series (electricity consumption and economic growth) of the three locales (Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei) are non-stationary. But first differences of the two series are stationary. The results of the Johansen co-integration test indicate that electricity consumption and economic growth are co-integrated in Hebei and Tianjin while this is not the case in Beijing. The Granger causality test implies that there is causality running from electricity consumption to economic growth in all of the three locales. Causality running from economic growth to electricity consumption is found in Hebei and Beijing while this is not the case in Tianjin. This means that an increase in electricity consumption directly affects economic growth and that economic growth also stimulates further electricity consumption in Hebei and Beijing. But in Tianjin, an increase in electricity consumption directly affects economic growth while economic growth cannot affect electricity consumption. These findings can provide useful information for local governments of the three locales to formulate sustainable energy and economic policies. The study is of great significance for circular economy and building a resource-conserving society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has entered the new millennium with the goal of returning to the club of the great world powers and is running as the clearest candidate to dispute the hegemonic power of the United States. The "Chinese dream of revitalization of the great Chinese nation" and the "community of destiny" have become two of the main foreign policy purposes of the current president, Xi Jinping. In both concepts, the economic arena occupies a priority place. In this context, the economic statecraft, understood as the manipulation of international economic activities by a State to achieve strategic objectives (Norris, 2010) becomes a fundamental tool for Beijing in the framework of consolidation of its global power. It has also become an effective means to attract Latin American countries, rich in the natural resources that China needs to sustain its economic growth rates. In this regard, the Asian giant has established strategic partnerships aimed at strengthening ties with Beijing, which focus on trade, investment and finance (priority areas of action in the economic statecraft). This paper intends to analyze the economic statecraft that China deploys in Latin America and its link with the establishment of strategic associations in the region, in order to understand if they contribute to give an institutional framework to the economic policy of power that China deploys in the region. For this, we will take the case of the Argentina-China relationship at the beginning of the 21st century, analyzing its process of approach and evolution of bilateral political-diplomatic relations until the signing of the 2014 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social welfare system in China has been undergoing transition since the economic reform in 1978 when the Chinese government began introducing a series of welfare changes aimed at shifting responsibility from the government to a combination of government, communities, enterprises and individuals. Consequently, many cities in China have been experimenting with community-based welfare services — a state-sanctioned practice based on socialist ideology, but at the same time market driven and incorporating the private sector. This new welfare approach started an ongoing dialogue in China regarding the role of the public and private sectors in social welfare, the balance between socialist and capitalist values, and the input of the free market and political democracy. This paper presents a case study of an urban community in Beijing. It examines the policy of community-based services and discusses its implementation in urban communities. The research suggests that the public-private coordination is, within limits, effective in meeting people's needs in the community. However, further attention should be given to the sharing of responsibility for welfare between the public and private sectors so as to protect vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Some commentators have claimed that there is a growing Beijing Consensus among emerging and developing economies concerning the merits of China’s economic policies. Within an analytical framework provided by the well known international policy trilemma, this paper investigates the empirical evidence concerning this claim with specific reference to the adoption of international macroeconomic policies. We find that there are substantial differences between what China does and what is done in other emerging and developing economies. While we discover some regional and inter-temporal variations, there seems to be little or no support for the existence of a Beijing Consensus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An identification of economic clusters and analysing their changing spatial patterns is important for understanding urban economic space dynamics. Previous studies, however, suffer from limitations as a consequence of using fixed geographically areas and not combining functional and spatial dynamics. The paper presents an approach, based on local spatial statistics and the case of Beijing to understand the spatial clustering of industries that are functionally interconnected by common or complementary patterns of demand or supply relations. Using register data of business establishments, it identifies economic clusters and analyses their pattern based on postcodes at different time slices during the period 1983–2002. The study shows how the advanced services occupy the urban centre and key sub centres. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cluster is mainly concentrated in the north part of the city and circles the urban centre, and the main manufacturing clusters are evolved in the key sub centers. This type of outcomes improves understanding of urban-economic dynamics, which can support spatial and economic planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper addresses issues raised in ‘The Background of China's Planning Institutional Reform’ circulated in advance of the International Conference on China's Planning System Reform, held on 24–25 March 2004 in Beijing. The discussion is structured around four topics: (1) the scope of planning; (2) the administration of the planning system; (3) methods of planning; and (4) the coordination of planning with market activities. A critical issue is whether the Chinese government is doing too much or too little in planning the broad range of activities in a market economy, and various policy options are examined in relation to this issue. A central conclusion is that as China's economic and political system evolves within the framework of the Five-Year Plan, the scope of planning will naturally reduce as the market sector replaces a number of activities formerly undertaken by government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the word "unemployment" was taboo in the Chinese mainland. In the 1980s, surplus workers from various enterprises were described as "job-awaiting (daiye) people." However, after Beijing decided to deepen economic reforms in the early 1990s, the growing numbers of surplus workers have forced the state to bring the problem into the open. This paper will analyze the unemployment crunch of the 1990s, which consists of cyclical unemployment, structural unemployment, and frictional unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging with a multilateral body requires constructive foreign policy forethought, especially for a country that is not a fully fledged member of that body. China’s overtures to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) exemplify this approach. The Indian Ocean and India are the two most immediate elements in China’s policy approach to the IORA. With 20 member states, extra-territorial major powers as important dialogue partners, and the increasing importance of energy politics in the region, the IORA today is a significant multilateral body in China’s calculus. Beijing’s involvement with the IORA bespeaks the construct and strategy of a great power. For India, China’s power construct in this matter poses three challenges: Beijing as a maritime power; Beijing as an economic power; and Beijing as a polygonal power. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Impressive setting, harmonious atmosphere, far-reaching promises: Under the banner of »Friendship, Peace, Cooperation and Development« 1,700 delegates from China and 4-8 African countries celebrated a tentative climax of 50 years of diplomatic ties at the third Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing in November 2006. The Beijing Action Plan adopted there fosters »a new strategic partnership« and outlines China's comprehensive commitments up to 2009. While China's underlying interests and the scope and nature of and hitches to the rapidly deepening trade, investment and aid relations between China and Africa are discussed frequently, an understanding of how this partnership is actually perceived in the countries concerned is often lacking. China is anxious to achieve its strategic objectives in Africa (access to markets and resources, diplomatic support) in a way .that is coherent with its five principles of peaceful coexistence. The desire for conflict avoidance and harmony is deeply rooted in China, and this became manifest in the grandiose stage the government prepared in Beijing to underline its respect for its African guests. China's principle of non-interference is also reflected in its suspicion towards OECD countries' comments on its Africa policy. Considering itself a lead nation in Africa, South Africa views China as a strategic South-South-partner on the global stage, and has also started to recognize the need to actively shape its relations to the Asian giant. Potential links between FOCAC and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) are being discussed, as is China's impact on the national economy. The OECD countries' criticism of China's engagement in Africa is perceived to be largely hypocritical. The Kenyan government is portraying China as a new, friendly donor offering a welcome alternative to Western aid and conditionalities. However, concerns about the widening trade deficit and Chinese competition in domestic and third markets are growing. Hopes with regard to exports to China and tourism from China have not materialized yet, and the limits of China's friendship and the Chinese sensitivity to any criticism are coming increasingly to be recognized. Yet strategies designed to shape the relations are still lacking. In Europe, China's engagement in Africa is largely viewed as a scramble for resources. Criticism focuses on China's unconditional loans, its non-adherence to Western good governance and environmental standards, and its lack of transparency. Overall, it is becoming apparent that intensified China-Africa ties are fundamentally changing the preconditions for Africa's development. A political and economic alternative to the West is emerging for African countries. Being perceived as a partner rather than a recipient constitutes a boost for Africa's self-esteem. However, while China has a rather clear-cut Africa agenda, African countries are neither clear about their own strategy nor in any way united. A »trialogue« between European, African, and Chinese partners should be aimed for, one focusing more on common interests, such as the NEPAD process, and less on obvious differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]