Social networks,rule of law and economic growth in China: The elusive pursuit of the right combination of private and public ordering

Social networks have always been an integral part of every society. However, they are different and play a more prominent role in Asian societies. In particular, it will be argued that the relationship of private ordering, networks of relationships, and informal law to formal law are necessary in addition to rule of law for a sustained economic growth. This is evident in how various Asian countries escaped the financial crisis that crippled the region. Rather than an analysis of several different Asian societies, China will be the main focus.     

An enduring need: multilateralism in the twenty-first century

That the global economy has been hugely successful over thepast 50 years is unquestionable. A major underpinning of thatsuccess has been the open multilateral system, which has enabledthe emergence of a truly international financial system, reciprocalreduction of trade barriers, and the emergence of many previouslypoor countries into the status of ‘emerging markets’or even ‘developed’. The open multilateral system,however, is increasingly under-appreciated and taken for granted.Preferential trading arrangements have proliferated, and withthem the possibility of discriminatory arrangements for capitalflows. The absence of an international regime for capital flowspermits this development and poses a threat to the system, asdo all of the issues on which countries' governments assert‘their’ interests, and ignore their interests inthe overall health of the system. It is to be hoped that thebenefits of multilateralism are more greatly appreciated, andthat the current trend toward increasing regionalism and departuresfrom the post-war system is reversed.     

区域主义、多边主义与亚洲经济一体化

当今世界,区域经济一体化趋势明显.区域主义与多边主义之争反映了对两者是否兼容的不同认识.区域经济一体化不应看作是对多边主义的挑战,两者完全可以并存.而亚洲经济一体化则会在APEC的基础上逐步发展起来.     

中国应对全球治理和多边主义挑战的实践和理论意义

当前,世界经济增长乏力,国际政治和安全挑战增加,科技冷战和集团对抗的阴影加重,全球治理和多边主义面临美国单边主义及世界范围的民粹主义和保护主义等社会思潮的叠加冲击,国际形势的不稳定性和不确定性急剧上升。中国从国际关系的方向、目标和道义高度认识和提倡多边主义,形成了对多边主义主要内涵、基本路径的科学认识,多边外交理论不断丰富发展。与此同时,中国在全球治理的有效实施、体系变革、内涵更新和国际努力方面贡献了中国智慧和中国方案。展望未来,中国和国际社会作为利益攸关方,需要长期坚持和创新多边主义,增强全球治理的实践和理性认识,共同克服困难和应对挑战,更加积极有效地建构新型国际关系和人类命运共同体。     

区域经济一体化的理论溯源及最新进展

20世纪80年代末以来,对区域经济一体化的理论分析已从传统的完全竞争模型扩展到不完全竞争模型。近期的发展可以归结为三个方向:规模经济和不完全竞争理论下的区域经济一体化、内生化的区域经济一体化理论及区域主义与多边主义。本文评述这一领域的最新文献,并总结相关的启示。     

Singapore's Perspectives on the Proliferation of RTAs in East Asia and Beyond

Abstract

In this article the viewpoints and adopted strategies of Singapore in managing its trading relationship with other countries in the world is discussed. Trade being the lifeline and basis for its economic survival, Singapore has been very active in the negotiation and establishment of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries, practically in every continent. Singapore's activism in bilateral FTAs is a reinforcement of its development strategy of expanding and ensuring market access for local and foreign investors. This is also in alignment with Singapore's pro- business strategy philosophy and the objective of ensuring economic viability. Also Singapore's trade accords go beyond trade liberalization and include “behind the border” impediments to trade; this is reckoned to keep the momentum of trade talk going and to hasten the process of liberalization by inducing other countries to liberalize.     

Regionalism and East Asian economic integration

The wave of economic globalization moves to all the countries in the world to be integrated with multilateralism and by promotion of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization （GATT/WTO）. Meanwhile, the growth of regional economic integration has been one of the major developments in international economic relations, and undoubtedly regionalism is a part of the global economic environment. The objective of the paper is to review the trends and highlight the prospects for enhancing economic integration in East Asia. This paper has argued that the emerging East Asian economies have achieved sustained economic development and poverty reduction through domestic structural, institutional and governance reforms as well as through market-driven integration with the global and regional markets. Though this process was temporarily interrupted by the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998, the economies have pursued further liberalization and reforms, deepened economic integration through trade, FDI and finance, and regained dynamic growth. The author argues that the reasonable choice for Eastern Asian countries is to deepen their economic integration and the optimal strategy is fostering economic integration with institutional cooperation.     

区域主义与多边主义——冲突还是互补

当今世界范围内的区域贸易协定数量激增,给多边主义带来严峻的挑战。区域主义与多边主义是相互冲突还是并行不悖,这个问题值得探讨。本文阐述了区域贸易协定的现状和利弊,并从市场准入、贸易救济、技术性贸易壁垒、服务、投资以及竞争政策等6个方面对世界上主要的区域贸易协定进行评述,并在此基础上得出区域主义与多边主义之间的关系。     

The World Bank and Emerging Powers: Beyond the Multipolarity–Multilateralism Conundrum

The discrepancy between the increasingly multipolar world economy of the recent decades and the stubbornly limited representativeness of the organisations mandated with its governance causes much strain in global politics. Some scholars suggest that this chronic mismatch will undermine existing multilateral bodies, while others expect the present architecture to persist. This article contends that the outcomes of this challenge are institution-specific. In settings where significant operational realignments are possible within existing mandates and governance structures, the multipolarity–multilateralism conundrum could be partly mitigated. The argument is based on a thematic analysis of all IBRD-IDA loan commitments between 2002 and 2015 in the World Bank’s seven all-time top borrowers: Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey (collectively, the Big Seven). The key finding is that while these emerging countries remain the Bank’s biggest clients, the terms of their engagement have shifted precisely along the lines where they had already differed from the rest of the Bank’s clientele: away from politically onerous governance and institutional reforms, and towards developing physical and market infrastructure while attaining social sustainability. This implicit realignment is facilitated by the Bank’s diverse policy repertoire, which allows considerable inter-regional and intra-regional variation in lending patterns to accommodate member preferences.     

Multilateral Organisations and the Limits to International Energy Cooperation

Surging world energy prices, increasing oil market volatility and a nascent ‘energy transition’ are posing major challenges for global energy governance. In response, there has been a proliferation in the number of multilateral bodies addressing energy issues in recent years, and a wide range of organisations now claim a role in facilitating intergovernmental energy cooperation. However, the practical achievements of these organisations have been very poor, with all suffering difficulties that have limited their ability to promote shared energy interests between states. This article examines the dynamics of multilateral energy organisations, arguing that the political economy features of energy – securitisation and attendant patterns of economic nationalism – explain why they have failed to develop more robust cooperative mechanisms. Ten global-level organisations are evaluated and found to suffer from membership, design or commitment issues that limit their effectiveness in global energy governance. These challenges are linked to the securitisation of energy, which has led governments to favour low-cost soft-law approaches over potentially more effective hard-law institutional designs. Moreover, the securitisation of energy poses limits for how far multilateral energy cooperation can proceed and means that contemporary efforts to strengthen these organisations are unlikely to succeed in coming years.