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The trajectories of the German and Chinese photovoltaic industries differ significantly yet are strongly interdependent. Germany has seen a rapid growth in market demand and a strong increase in production, especially in the less developed eastern half of the country. Chinese growth has been export driven. These contrasting trajectories reflect the roles of market creation, investment and credit and the drivers of innovation and competitiveness. Consequent differences in competiveness have generated major trade disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Based on the distribution patterns of the sub-branches and saving outlets of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Bank of China in prefectural cities in China between 2001 and 2009, this paper examines how these two Chinese state-owned commercial banks may centralize their operations and thus lead to the possible marginalization of the provision of basic banking services to low value-added customers. The restructuring of SOCBs may not result in high levels of layoff due to the state’s objectives of minimizing both operational costs and political risks. When the politically sensitive issue of (un)employment is not taken into account, the more economically developed cities with larger populations and the more developed telecommunication facilities experience a higher level of centralization of their banking operations. The centralization of banking operations in China is, however, not always at the expense of savings outlets, despite the merging of savings outlets with sub-branches in various Chinese cities. There is circumstantial evidence to suggest the convergence thesis is not applicable to the banking industry in China, which is different from the conventional argument in financial geography that the centralization and marginalization of banking operations are two sides of the same coin as in the restructuring of the Anglo-American banking industries. This difference could be due to the hybrid ownership structures of state-owned commercial banks in China where the boundaries between public and private property rights are blurred. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Deals with a study of the managerial challenges for Chinese manufacturing. Literature reviews and research hypotheses; Methodology used in the study; World Trade Organization accession and managerial challenges; Conclusion.

Abstract: This paper draws on trade data to examine the degree of upgrading of China’s trade structure with the world as a whole and in particular with the European Union (EU). More specifically it examines the evolution of the industrial structure of China’s trade with the world and with the EU between 1996 and 2008 and of the underlying dynamic indicators of revealed comparative advantage. This method of analysing China’s industrial structure provides clear evidence of upgrading into more advanced industries without at present losing significant competitive advantage in industries employing unskilled workers. The examination of revealed comparative advantage indices for world and Sino-EU trade also indicates an increasingly high degree of interdependence between the EU and China between 1996 and 2008. The EU (especially Germany, the UK, and France) is China’s most important export market, though it is also much more important as a market for China’s exports than the EU is as a supplier for China. China’s consequent trade surplus with the EU has gradually shifted from textiles and clothing to machinery and furniture. Further investigation reveals that the complementary Sino-EU bilateral trade is moving towards intra-industry trade at the 4-digit level of HS (Harmonization System) commodity classification. Although China is still a ‘global sweatshop’ with a strong specialization in labour-intensive commodities produced for economically developed countries (by importing machinery, raw materials and exporting processed goods), there are signs of technological upgrading in number of selected sectors in China, noticeably electronics, computers and telecommunications equipment. China’s reliance of imports of minerals indicates however that energy and resource security could be an important constraint on China’s long-term economic development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]