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This study analyzed the presentations of the deployment of THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) on South Korean territory by conducting a qualitative framing analysis of editorials and columns in The China Daily. This media organ of the Chinese government largely condemned the United States and South Korea as falling captive to the mindset of the Cold War. This antagonistic coverage was surely influenced by the Chinese government, which views the THAAD deployment can damage China's national security interests. The China Daily viewed the United States as a competitor and adversary to China. According to this newspaper, the United States is eager to wage a new Cold War and refuses to consider China as a potential partner in finding a solution to the North Korean crisis. In the opinion pages of The China Daily, Samuel Huntington's "clash of civilization" paradigm is repeatedly invoked as the proper framework through which a globalized world should be viewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Renminbi (RMB) bonds, especially Chinese Government bonds (CGB), as collateral for both onshore and cross-border over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives is a hot topic following China switching to a netting jurisdiction in August 2022. Since then, Chinese financial institutions are required to exchange initial margin and variation margin with offshore counterparties for dealing cross-border derivatives. As the market infrastructure for using RMB bonds as collateral for cross-border OTC derivatives transactions is not well established and RMB bonds are not extensively accepted by foreign counterparties as eligible collateral, Chinese financial institutions are unable to utilise their huge RMB bond holdings. At the same time, many foreign investors are allowed to access China's onshore RMB bond market with RMB bond holding up to RMB 3.4tr, but are unable to use those inventories as collateral for their onshore and cross-border derivatives trading and other financial transactions. Using RMB bonds as collateral is also an initiative of RMB internationalisation. The purpose of this paper is to give an extensive explanation of the status of using RMB bonds as collateral in the Chinese market, point out challenges faced by market participants and provide suggestions to promote using RMB bonds as collateral for both onshore and cross-border derivatives transactions. This paper provides the full picture of China's onshore RMB bond investment and bond collateral management along with the latest data. It also provides extensive analysis for deficiencies in respect of the RMB bond collateralisation. It concludes with suggestions for the future development of the Chinese market to use RMB bonds as collateral for both onshore and cross-border OTC derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of new academic and government attention paid to China's growing Arctic security interests, this article examines the strategic advantages which may lead China to deploy submarines into the polar waters as well as the disadvantages and dangers inherent in such a mission. In contrast to the general belief that such an under-ice presence is both imminent and dangerous to the US and its allies, this piece suggests a more nuanced appreciation for the limited value of the Arctic as a realm of Sino-American competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The war that Russia has waged in the Ukraine in shifting world geopolitics. We cannot see yet the cadence of changes to come. It remains to be seen whether the shifts that impact on the world system for instance the breakdown of the global markets, may be a sympton of conunctural or structural transformations. In fact, the global division of labor and distribution is suffering a maior disarrangement. The geopolitical risk data sugest that tightness between Kremlin and the NATO.is in a dangerous high level, the indicators warn about the polarization of the USA and China interests. China s advantage is favored by russian loss of institutional and economic status in the global framework. So, in the following pages, they are valued some geopolitical drifts of the current war in Ukraine, such as the one concerning Europe (European Union), in the rethinking its borders, or the European's ability to manage war timings according to the continental security interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's increasingly active economic diplomacy in recent years has often been deeply linked to its geostrategic interests. Japan is said to be watching this development with alarm. Analysts have often claimed that this has resulted in Sino-Japanese rivalry, where the Japanese see any gains made by China in zero-sum terms, and make concerted efforts to counter China's growing influence. This article, however, is critical of such views. While elements of rivalry may indeed be visible in some aspects of Sino-Japanese relations, it would be premature to apply this perspective to economic statecraft, which is inherently multifaceted. This article claims that too much attention has been paid to the strategic aspects of Chinese economic statecraft at the expense of economic/commercial ones that could foster cooperative relations between Beijing and Tokyo. It argues that Japan does not hold a monolithic view that Chinese diplomatic activities in the economic realm are an axiomatic threat to Japanese security interests, and it remains premature to say that Japan and China are 'rivals' in the realm of economic statecraft. Future analysis in this area needs to pay greater attention to the complicating effects that economic interdependence can have in strategic policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis contributes to a fast-growing body of literature on Sino-Western relations and the tension between economic and security interests. It takes Britain's China policy as a case study considering the Integrated Review 2021. It argues that London's stance towards Beijing has shifted – officially – from the so-called "golden era" to a complex phase of diplomatic–military tensions and scrutinised economic relations, principally because of US pressure. However, this shift de facto has not had a structural impact on the economic side of the relationship between London and Beijing. The article reaches this conclusion by framing its narrative through the lens of the economy-security conundrum at the heart of the Liberal International Order and through the lens of the New Cold War between the US and China. These two factors are crucial for understanding the change between Britain's China policy pre- and post-2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Collateral resistance against antibiotic combinations was common in cyanobacteria. • Collateral resistance elevated or widened resistant mutant selection window. • Increasing temperature promoted collateral effects on resistance development. • Climate warming accelerated resistance emergence pioneered by tolerance. Both cyanobacterial blooms and antibiotic resistance have aggravated worldwide and posed a great threat to public health in recent years. As a significant source and reservoir of water environmental resistome, cyanobacteria exhibit confusing discrepancy between their reduced susceptibility and their chronic exposure to antibiotic mixtures at sub-inhibitory concentrations. How the increasing temperature affects the adaptive evolution of cyanobacteria-associated antibiotic resistance in response to low-level antibiotic combinations under climate change remains unclear. Here we profiled the antibiotic interaction and collateral susceptibility networks among 33 commonly detected antibiotics in 600 cyanobacterial strains isolated from 50 sites across four eutrophicated lakes in China. Cyanobacteria-associated antibiotic resistance level was found positively correlated to antibiotic heterogeneity across all sites. Among 528 antibiotic combinations, antagonism was observed for 62 % interactions and highly conserved within cyanobacterial species. Collateral resistance was detected in 78.5 % of pairwise antibiotic interaction, leading to a widened or shifted upwards mutant selection window for increased opportunity of acquiring second-step mutations. We quantified the interactive promoting effect of collateral resistance and increasing temperature on the evolution of both phenotypic and genotypic cyanobacteria-associated resistance under chronic exposure to environmental level of antibiotic combinations. With temperature increasing from 16 °C to 36 °C, the evolvability index and genotypic resistance level increased by 1.25 – 2.5 folds and 3 – 295 folds in the collateral-resistance-informed lineages, respectively. Emergence of resistance mutation pioneered by tolerance, which was jointly driven by mutation rate and persister fraction, was found to be accelerated by increased temperature and antibiotic switching rate. Our findings provided mechanic insights into the boosting effect of climate warming on the emergence and development of cyanobacteria-associated resistance against collateral antibiotic phenotypes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevailing narratives of security in the Pacific have been framed as a contest between the so-called Indo-Pacific security narrative with its China-threat focus and the human-security and environment focus of the so-called Blue Pacific narrative. The main purpose of this article is to explore areas of convergence as well as divergence in these regional security narratives. The question posed is how the Pacific's regional security priorities on climate change can be advanced alongside the geopolitical and geostrategic priorities of the region's major external powers. Past examples of security cooperation in the Pacific point to the way different security narratives and agendas can come together to deliver outcomes probably acceptable to all parties. With this background, the possibilities of cooperation arising from the Boe Declaration on regional security, adopted by the Pacific Islands Forum in 2018, are examined. The article suggests that the current geopolitical environment provides opportunities for Pacific states to drive their agenda by leveraging the complementary security interests of major external powers in the region. However strategic competition between the major powers could in the long term be counterproductive to achieving the region's climate change goals and ambitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2009, when Bitcoin was invented, a private currency has returned to the world stage, offering the advantages of absolute secrecy to its owner. Imitations soon emerged: they do not have the same characteristics, but incorporate increasingly refined financial technologies that has drawn special attention following the lockdown triggered by the pandemic crisis in 2019. As supply is fixed, the prices of bitcoins spiral upward, as well as the prices of other cryptocurrencies do although to a lesser extent. Platforms for custody and conversion of cryptocurrency are set up, and they expanded their business to grant credit either with their own or others cryptocurrencies and to use them as collateral in derivative contracts. Consistently with Gresham's law bad money starts driving out good money and Central Banks are considering the issue of digital sovereign currencies, but the interests around virtual products and fears for the stability of banks and financial intermediaries are slowing down the decision-making process. Only China is taking advantage of an own digital currency and has prohibited any other digital currency out of its control. The topic is also relevant to geopolitical balances and it triggers more international conflicts. The attempt to include cryptocurrency and cryptoassets into the scope of the existing legislation does not lead to a solution. The suggested solution is twofold: we must reiterate the legal nature of sovereign money and the lack of any protection for crypto-users. Legitimacy by public authorities, which is currently granted, either implicitly or explicitly, should be avoided. Crypto-assets (or STO-Security Tokens) are free to operate, but the decentralized ledgers they use must make information accessible to regulatory and supervisory Authorities, and States must guarantee cybersecurity of digital processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes in China-US relations are a pivotal part of the world’s unprecedented changes in the past century. As for the game between China and the United States, we must first “establish correct views of history, the overall situation and the role of the players” and see which side of history is correct and in which direction human progress is heading. At the same time, we should look far ahead, start early, get well prepared, and actively grasp the strategic initiative. We should also understand and plan ChinaUS relations in the context of the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Meanwhile, We should always bear in mind the principle of “upholding the people’s supremacy”. We should be sober minded and fully prepared, resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and safeguard the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Furthermore, in our external work, we should also give better and more effective play to the role of Chinese excellent traditional culture, show its unique charm, and achieve the effect of moistening things silently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although China's financial market grows more mature, an old, and arguably unethical form of finance—usury—still exists. In an age when the internet is widely available, various online lending platforms allow access to varieties of usury cloaked in new forms. In this article, we discuss three types of illegal usury crimes: campus loans that trick college students into heavy debts, naked loans that target young female students and use nude photos as collateral, and recipe loans that swindle people with valuable property (e.g., real estate). We found that these new forms of usury can be ascribed to a mismatch: the borrowers have a high marginal propensity to consume but limited liquidity to spend. Cultural, social, and legal factors in China are also significant contributors to the existence of these crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose and test a theory of using commodities as collateral for financing. Under capital control and collateral constraint, investors import commodities and pledge them as collateral to earn higher expected returns. Higher collateral demands increase commodity prices and make the inventory-convenience yield relation less negative. Our model illustrates these equilibrium effects and suggests that the violation of covered interest-rate parity is a proxy for collateral demands. Evidence from eight commodities in China and developed markets supports the theoretical predictions. Our findings complement the theory of storage and provide new insights into the financialization of commodity markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether introducing the collateral menus of liquid assets (e.g. , inventory and accounts receivable) influences corporate hiring decisions. Our identification scheme treats the enactment of China's Property Law in 2007 as a quasi-natural experiment and then conducts a difference-in-differences estimation. The results show that firms with less net fixed assets hire more workers, particularly for firms with tighter financial constraints, higher labor intensity and those located in cities with stricter law enforcement, greater fiscal pressure and lower bank density. Further analysis shows that liquid assets help firms obtain more debt, save less cash, decrease the cash flow sensitivity of cash and investment and invest more in fixed assets, consistent with the collateral channel. In addition, a significant convergence of labor productivity across firms illustrates that the Property Law also has a labor reallocation effect. Our findings shed light on the importance of expanding collateral menus in maintaining employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why did a would-be recognized nuclear state oppose nonproliferation for two decades, but then change its position in 1984? Based on extensive fieldwork in Beijing where the author conducted 20 interviews with high-profile Chinese government and military officials, ambassadors of disarmament, and nuclear and astronautic scientists, this article argues that China openly opposed nonproliferation to give its nascent nuclear program time to achieve a retaliatory capability. Once this goal was fulfilled in the mid-1980s, China began accepting nonproliferation norms. While China's fervent opposition seemed ideological in a revolutionary era, it was indeed a rational behavior in pursuit of security interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a unique large dataset collected from one of the oldest and largest P2P lending platforms in China, namely PPDAI, this article tests the bilateral effects of a special type of platform-sponsored collateral on lenders and borrowers. Both theoretically and empirically, we find that smart lenders disaggregate the surety and riskiness-signaling effects of such collateral. Our evidence indicates that lenders in China's P2P market are smart: they anticipate that platform-collateralized loans are riskier than the non-collateralized ones in the second or higher rounds of fundraising. For the borrowers, platform-sponsored collateral increases the overall borrowing capacity owing to its surety effect. Therefore, combining the two aspects, platform-sponsored collateral increases the overall efficiency of the P2P lending market given the safety of the platform per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past seven decades, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, China's diplomacy has achieved historical achievements: it has established a network of partnership spanning across the globe, served national construction and "reform and opening-up", staunchly safeguarded national sovereignty, security and development interests, markedly improved China's international status and influence, contributed China's wisdom and solution to the world, and earnestly practiced the principle of diplomacy for the people. China has carved out a path of major-power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and has accumulated valuable experience in this process: adhering to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the path of socialism; upholding an independent foreign policy of peace; advocating for the international relations tenet with the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence" as the core; opposing hegemonism and power politics; adamantly standing with the vast group of developing countries; safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests; promoting human common development while safeguarding its own interests; insisting on seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times and keeping exploration and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from China, where the identity of engagement auditors is disclosed, we find significant relationships between engagement auditors' negative experiences and the costs of corporate bonds. Further tests differentiate field and review auditors' experiences, and we find that both field and review auditors' negative experiences are significantly related to higher costs of corporate bonds. In addition, we find that the above results are significant only when the engagement auditors are affiliated with non-Big10 audit firms. Using path analysis, we find that credit rating is a possible channel through which information on engagement auditors' negative experiences can transfer to bond investors. Regarding non-price terms, we conclude that engagement auditors with negative experiences are associated with smaller bond sizes, shorter bond maturities, a higher likelihood of requiring collateral, and more restrictive covenants. Further analyses also show that the effects of engagement auditors' negative experiences on the costs of corporate bonds are less pronounced for well-governed firms. To show that our results obtained from China's corporate bond market are relevant to loan markets, we replicate the above tests using a Chinese sample, and the results from the loan market are consistent with those from the corporate bond market. Overall, our empirical results suggest that investors are indeed concerned with engagement auditors' negative experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American policy towards China is now up for grabs, with hardliners and soft-liners battling for the upper hand. The hardliners view China as an existential threat to American security and interests. The soft-liners regard China as a powerful counterpart, on occasion friend, competitor, or adversary, but not an existential threat. In my view, the hardline approach – to be pursued through protectionist trade policies and aggressive technology policies — would prove disastrous, weakening the world economy and creating a self-fulfilling grave risk of future conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide the first comprehensive and robust evidence on the relationship between CSR disclosure quality and the costs of corporate bonds in China. We find that firms with high CSR disclosure quality are associated with lower costs of corporate bonds. Our findings are robust to endogeneity issues arising from reverse causality, omitted variable bias, and the interdependencies between price and non-price terms. The negative relationship between CSR disclosure quality and the costs of corporate bonds is stronger in weak corporate governance firms and in firms located in regions with weak institutional environments. We also find that firms’ misconduct significantly mitigates the influence of CSR disclosure quality. In the additional analyses, we provide evidence that CSR disclosure can offer incremental information beyond the credit ratings. Regarding non-price terms, we conclude that firms with higher quality of CSR information are less likely to be subject to collateral terms, but they tend to include more restrictive covenants. Further analyses also show that compared with low-quality or mandatory CSR disclosure firms, bond investors perceive firms with CSR disclosures rated above “A” categories or voluntary CSR disclosure as less likely to cause asymmetric information problems and thus charge lower risk premiums. Overall, this study demonstrates that CSR disclosure quality is an important determinant that affects both price and non-price bond contract terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of corporate governance on the collateral requirements for firms' bank loans in China. We find that firms with lower excess control rights and other large shareholders face lower collateral requirements, which is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises (SOEs) than in SOEs. Regarding board characteristics, we find that smaller board size, more independent directors, separation of the positions of CEO and chairman, and larger supervisory board size can reduce a firm's use of collateral; the effect of all the preceding characteristics is more pronounced in SOEs. Overall, our research suggests that, in China, corporate governance structures are able to affect bank-lending decisions in respect of collateral requirements and that the influence depends on the controlling shareholder type and associated agency problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows that the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) between China and the Philippines is an attempt of both countries to advance their respective national interests. Arguing that the foreign policies of China and the Philippines dovetailed during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the study situates the JMSU as (1) part of China's overall foreign policy in Southeast Asia and (2) as an attempt to maintain good relations with the Philippines and help resolve tensions related to the South China Sea disputes between the Philippines and China. The paper also shows that (3) the JMSU, along with Chinese ODA, dovetailed with the Philippine government's plan to promote economic development and facilitate energy security. Citing significant documents compiled by government agencies, newspaper and online articles, government officials' speeches, and academic journals, the study shows how the Chinese official development assistance (ODA) coincided and ran parallel to the signing of the Joint Maritime Seismic Undertaking. In conclusion, the study suggests a direct, causal link, not just conjunction, among Chinese ODA, the advancement of Beijing's security interests, and the signing of the JMSU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of China to superpower status with the Cold War end has placed Chinese security interests at the forefront of global policy. For military analyst, the fundamental level of explanation is the armed forces -impressive by number and technical equipment. For security analyst, fundamental theme is found into the analysis of economic and political support behind the Chinese military power. But little has been addressed the relationship between centers of strategic and security thinking (think-tanks) and Chinese security policies. What is the mission, structure and material and intellectual capacity of these think-tanks? What is their institutional subordination, and how much freedom of thought can say in an authoritarian political system? What is their influential capacity on policy makers and how much of their security policy proposals become reality? These questions were formulated and for them try this articole to get some answers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subrogator's right to discharge directly, based on the legal relation between a creditor and subdebtor, was provided first in the Law of the People's Republic of China on Contracts and related judicial interpretations. According to the legal implication subrogation analyses of relevant legal norm and legislative purpose, the direct discharge as the precondition of subrogation is satisfied by the legal assignment of creditor's right. Subrogator's right to discharge directly does not violate the claim on the principle of equality. With the legal establishment of the subrogator's right to discharge directly, the purpose of subrogation system formulated is not for the preservation of obligatory right but for the legal effect of subrogator's right to discharge directly. In other words, nowadays the subrogation has been a direct way to reclaim bad creditor's right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2007 Hong Kong Copyright Amendment Ordinance was passed as part of continuing efforts to balance the interests of copyright owners with the public benefits that flow from the use of copyrighted works. The anticircumvention provisions in the ordinance, closely modeled on the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), create a complex new regime that regulates the circumvention of copy and access controls to copyrighted works, and contains a set of narrow exceptions for some scientific research. Both the specific text of the amendments, and U.S. experience with similar provisions in the DMCA give rise to serious concerns about the potential effects of this legislation. The anticircumvention amendments threaten fair dealing rights in Hong Kong because they unduly expand the power of copyright owners to control the actual use of their works, rendering fair dealing rights moot. Although the amendments provide exceptions for cryptography and security testing, the wording of the exceptions is problematic, and U.S. experience with very similar provisions in the DMCA shows that they will nevertheless chill legitimate research and harm consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A storm is brewing 100 kilometers above the Pacific Rim. The early 21st century finds the People's Republic of China in the throes of astronomical economic growth, national development, and military expansion. The United States, meanwhile, is staunchly determined to develop an effective missile defense system and to extend its military capabilities in space as it pursues its global war on terrorism. China sees U.S. military space activities as a threat and, along with Russia, has pushed hard in recent years for a ban on all space weapons. So far, the United States has been unwilling to negotiate on the subject, claiming that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty-which bans weapons of mass destruction in space, but not other weapons-is sufficient. Pursuing space weapons without coming to an understanding with the Chinese does not serve U.S. national security interests. There is a better way. Article IV of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty should be extended in a targeted manner that will alleviate the worst of China's worries-space-based kinetic kill vehicles and lasers, and ground-based anti-satellite weapons-while at the same time leaving the United States plenty of room to pursue its other military and strategic interests in space. By following the examples set by UNCLOS III and the ABM and SALT treaties, China, Russia, and the United States can amend Article IV in a way that will be acceptable to all sides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about various issues related to the U.S. security policy on China. This discussion shows that, from China's perspective, the key to improving the U.S.-China relations is not stressing common interests in reality, but stressing China's long-term goodwill. The most important issue in the U.S.-China security relations is Taiwan issue. When dealing with Taiwan issue, China should also take into account how to influence the U.S. concerns about gains. The U.S., therefore, might adopt a more co-operative policy on China.

This study examines the impact of security considerations on the Republic of China's (ROC's) economic policy, and focuses on trade and investment in the context of its relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC). It demonstrates host' considerations arising from the recognition of the crucial role of economic growth and prosperity in security have had a major impact on the ROC's economic policy and constrained its options in addressing grave politico-military security concerns. The ROC is faced with a multifaceted security environment involving both economic and politico-military threats, largely emanating from the PRC. The ROC's prioritization of economic growth and prosperity has encouraged policies designed to contribute to the success of its business sector, including exports and foreign investment which have resulted in increasing dependence on the PRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses collateral trade in China, focusing on how commodities such as iron and copper as being used as collateral for housing-related loans. Topics discussed include China's economic policies and long-term growth prospects in commodities such as polyethylene and polypropylene, the property bubble and financial speculation in China, especially Beijing, sales of Chinese apartments, and the influence of China's commodity imports on investors and other businesses.