Author: Nial Gooding

What the heck’s going on in China? Since the Third Plenum last November it’s been clear something big is underway; but what? In the paper I’m highlighting this week Professor Barry Naughton, the So Kwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San […]

With the kind permission of Professor Dr. Gerald Chan 陳智宏 Professor and former Head of Department of Political Studies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand I’m posting this paper (click the link below for the paper in full) that discusses the new world order. This is the one where China is a reluctant perhaps but nonetheless […]

Last week a friend highlighted an article that appeared originally in ‘The Hindu’ on August 25th beneath the headline ‘Dalai Lama in talks to return, Chinese official’ (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/dalai-lama-in-talks-to-return-says-chinese-official/article6348150.ece). It seems a group of Indian journalists were recently invited for a tour of Tibet and one at least received the impression that the Dalai Lama (in […]

This went out last month and in it George speculates on some of the fallout from what he concludes is ‘..the most important political campaign in China for 25 years.’ He candidly admits there are ‘Trenchant questions which I can’t answer, and which most people can only speculate about.’ but has a go anyway. He […]

The authors of this paper don’t mince words. China can’t escape a hard landing. Why? One of their most compelling arguments is that few before have managed it. The historical precedent of economies that come off a rapid-growth-plateau is for a similiarly rapid adjustment to lower norms; why should China be any different? Assesing the […]

China’s Economic Rise – Congressional Research Service The full title of this piece, published a little over a week ago by the Congressional Research Service (“Informing the legislative debate since 1914”), is ‘China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States’. It’s an excellent high-level summary of where China stands today, and […]

This report, from July this year, is from the Pew Research Center and “..examines global public opinion about the United States, China and the international balance of power.” Pew Attitudes Report July 2014 The full report can be accessed by clicking the link above or if you’re short on time there’s a five page summary […]

The Golden Dilemma This paper (click the above link) is from the Financial Analysts Journal, July/August 2013 edition. In it the authors Mr. Claude B Erb and Mr. Campbell R. Harvey investigate six of the most commonly cited reasons for owning the yellow metal and conclude only one, an argument about under-ownership, may have some […]

The Elaborate Paper Tiger This paper (click the link above) is a good introduction to the legal framework that surrounds environmental protection, and why it doesn’t work as well as it might, in China. Perhaps one of the most telling observations in this piece is one Professor Ryan (http://law.lclark.edu/live/profiles/286-erin-ryan/) mentions as an aside at the […]

Xi Jinping’s Inner Circle – Part II Following last week’s paper from Mr. Cheng Li, a director of the John L. Thornton China Center and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings (he’s also a director of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and focuses on the transformation of political leaders, generational change […]

Xi Jinping’s Inner Circle – Part I With the kind permission of Mr. Cheng Li, director of the John L. Thornton China Center and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings; also a director of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (Mr. Li focuses on the transformation of political leaders, generational change and […]

Who will feed China in 21st Century This paper is from June this year and was produced by The World Bank Development Research Group’s Agriculture and Rural Development Team. The authors, Ms. Emiko Fukase and Mr. Will Martin, come quickly to the conclusion that China will mostly feed itself in the medium term and they […]

Wazza Buffet created a stir in his last letter to shareholders recommending how cash should be invested after his death. “My advice to the trustee could not be more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. (I suggest Vanguard’s.) I believe the […]