Wong John Wong – författare

Following Deng Xiaoping''s economic reform and opening (Gaige Kaifang) policy, China experienced unprecedented high growth for over three decades. Crucial in the process was the role of Zhu Rongji, who was hand-picked by Deng initially as Executive Vice-Premier and later full Premier to carry through the needed reform and manage the critical marketization process through the turbulent 1990s when China''s economy suffered many ups and downs. Dubbed as China''s ''Economic Czar'', Zhu tackled many thorny problems associated with the country''s then half-reformed economy ably and effectively, thereby laying the ground for subsequent periods of greater dynamic growth. Zhu was instrumental in preparing China''s economy for its final take-off.The chapters in this volume were originally written as ''policy briefings'' for the Singapore government from 1997 to 2003 when Zhu was Premier. They cover a wide variety of topics including how he had applied his own way of ''macroeconomic control'' (Hongguan Tiaokong), how he went about reforming taxation, foreign exchange and state-owned enterprises, and finally his embrace of capitalism. Each chapter is preceded by a detailed introduction highlighting the main issues and interpreting them from today''s perspective based on updated information and additional new research.

This book studies the Suzhou Industrial Park, a flagship project between the governments of Singapore and China, in a holistic manner, by highlighting not only its economic progress but also the developments on the social front such as its neighbourhood centres, schools, housing and talent attraction. The success of the Park should be assessed keeping in view not only its economic achievements alone, but also its ability to attract residents to live and play in it. Making the Suzhou Industrial Park economically and socially attractive is thus a perennial challenge and remains key to the continued success of the industrial park.This book details Suzhou Industrial Park''s latest effort in industrial upgrading and transformation in terms of new growth areas as well as the challenges faced. It examines the social achievements of the Park, which are critical in enhancing the overall attractiveness of the Park and distinguishes it from other industrial parks in China and elsewhere. It also highlights how the experiences of the Suzhou Industrial Park is being replicated not only in the Jiangsu province, but also in other provinces and autonomous regions in China.

The rate of urbanisation will accelerate in the years ahead. The massive influx of people to cities will result in the demand for more services, expending more resources and generating more waste. The forces of globalisation and better connectivity will hasten this urbanisation process. Although the developed and developing countries in East Asia are at different stages of development, they have to grapple with the common challenge of improving the quality of life for urban residents and making cities liveable. This book brings together a collection of articles that traces the process of urbanisation in selected countries in East Asia, including the achievements and challenges encountered. It seeks to promote the sharing of best practices and experiences that can be a reference for governments and relevant stakeholders to facilitate the process of urbanisation that brings about the greatest benefits to residents and lessens the negative impact on the environment.

Touted as one of the main engineers of Singapore''s economic growth, Dr Goh''s collection of writings and speeches seek to shed light on the various challenges that China faced in the early 90s. His arguments and analyses were presented clearly and concisely while being firmly established upon economic principles. Covering a broad range of topics from the growth of industries and enterprises to financial reforms and the difficulties of doing business in China, this collection provides a comprehensive view of problems the Chinese government faced while providing possible solutions. Despite being written two decades ago, the issues raised in these papers and speeches are uncannily relevant to the issues that the current Chinese government faces today.

Intra-regional trade has been rising rapidly, especially after China''s accession to the WTO in 2001. China''s economy is expanding rapidly, and has already passed Japan in 2010 to become the world''s second largest economy. It is clearly producing a huge impact on the world economy, and particularly on ASEAN countries. This is the appropriate time to take stock: what has APEC achieved so far? How is China''s rapid growth shaping the course of economic integration and cooperation in the region? What is the future of APEC? This book is based on papers presented by scholars with expertise in the Asia Pacific region at a conference on “APEC at 20 and the Rise of China” organized by the APEC Centre of Lingnan University on 26-27 February 2010, and includes additional invited papers.

This book provides a fascinating perspective of the experiences of China''s reform in the past three decades by focusing on China''s interaction with and learning from the external world in her unprecedented efforts to reform and open up. After three introductory chapters on broad scope of reform in the political, economic, and social realms, this book deals with lessons from the Eastern Bloc, China''s reform in East Asian context, and China and the developed world. The book concludes with two chapters looking to the future of China''s political and economic development. In the existing literature of China''s reform experience, this book is unique in perspective, topic selection, and in-depth analyses. With contributions from a group of prominent scholars in the field of China studies such as John Wong, Zheng Yongnian, Thomas P Bernstein, Dorothy J Solinger, and Bo Zhiyue, it will be of immense value to anyone who is interested in China.

In Interpreting China''s Development, leading experts on China provide an overview of this growing superpower, highlighting key issues in the country''s political, economic and social development.Underpinned by up-to-date scholarly research yet written in a readable and concise style, this volume of over 40 short chapters offers a very accessible way to understanding the major events and dominant issues that had emerged in China over the last few decades. The essays are grouped under four thematic sections — challenges of governance, growth and structural changes, coping with rising social problems and relations with major powers and neighbours — covering salient topics such as the emerging mode of leadership succession, sustainability of China''s high growth, widening inequalities, environmental crisis and the external impact of China''s rise.Non-specialists in particular, should find this volume useful in keeping up with China''s fast changing developments.

The Chinese economy today is at a critical crossroads. Sustained rapid growth has given rise to structural strains as well as sectoral imbalances. It has also generated socio-economic problems such as rising income inequality, rural discontent and environmental degradation. All of these must be addressed before China can enter the next lap of high growth.Containing 12 chapters, this volume is a collaborative effort of leading economists from Beijing, Singapore and elsewhere in the region in analyzing China''s economic growth prospects and their concomitant problems and constraints.

This volume is an updated survey and assessment of the recent policy initiatives of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, which have come to be known as the Hu-Wen''s New Deal. Individual chapters are written by scholars from different academic disciplines and backgrounds. These scholars hail from Singapore, the United States, Australia, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China.Topics cover the patterns and process of leadership succession, emerging political factions, social unrest, sources of economic growth, income disparities, social security reform, land use policy, banking reform, corporate governance, labor and population policies, rule of law, and changes in the Party and ideology. On the external aspects, discussion includes China''s changing relations with the U.S., Japan and ASEAN. In many ways, the Hu-Wen leadership today is still coming to grips with the same issues and problems as discussed in this book.

With China''s dynamic economic growth, its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states have expanded rapidly in recent years, culminating in the conclusion of the landmark China-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2002. Beyond trade and economic activities, China-ASEAN cooperation has broadened to cover the environment, science and technology, non-traditional security areas and related legal issues. China''s relations with ASEAN have reached a new era where the two sides have established an economic, legal and political framework for their comprehensive cooperation.This book provides a comprehensive overview of China-ASEAN relations from economic, legal and political perspectives and examines various important topics related to non-traditional security issues, free trade zone and regional economic integration, border trade and environmental issues, and maritime security.

In the first half of 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) struck China (including Hong Kong), causing panic and claiming many lives. The unknown nature of SARS at that time also jolted the economic growth of China and Hong Kong, disrupted the social life of their citizens and created much stress and strain for their political systems and governance. Like other major crises, the management of the SARS crisis provides a good opportunity to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the political systems in China and Hong Kong. From the outset, scholars at the East Asian Institute (EAI) followed closely the unfolding of the disease in China, particularly how each of the two societies coped with this random external shock. SARS may or may not recur in the near future, but the episode has offered a glimpse into the extent of resilience of the two societies, the quality of their political leadership, the effectiveness of their political and institutional mobilization, the crisis-management capability of their respective bureaucracies, and the viability of their governance systems. This volume is the result of an EAI workshop on “SARS in China: Crises and Responses”.This book has been selected for coverage in:• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings® (ISTP® / ISI Proceedings)• Index to Scientific & Technical Proceedings (ISTP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)• Index to Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings® (ISSHP® / ISI Proceedings)• Index to Social Sciences & Humanities Proceedings (ISSHP CDROM version / ISI Proceedings)• CC Proceedings — Biomedical, Biological & Agricultural Sciences

With the new team of Chinese leaders at the helm following the successful hosting of the 16th Party Congress in November 2002, the attention of China''s scholars has now shifted to the raft of challenges that await the new leadership. In the economic realm, there is unlikely to be any sharp changes in the direction of economic policy-making although the leadership faces a number of daunting issues, such as rising urban unemployment, potential rural unrest and the huge debt burden of state banks.In the political arena, power succession has only just begun even though leadership transition is almost complete. Jiang Zemin remains highly influential in his capacity as Chairman of the Central Military Commission. It is however unclear how the working relationship among the triumvirate Hu Jintao, Zeng Qinghong and Wen Jiabao will unfold. The jury is still out whether Hu Jintao can provide the leadership and vision to deal head-on with a number of burning issues, like corruption and the need for political reform.

The lack of institutionalization around China''s leadership succession was brought into focus again in the run-up to the 16th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, and the widespread speculation on the final leadership line-up. The essays in this volume take a more analytical approach. This book first looks at the political structures of leadership transition in China, and secondly, seeks to understand the real and potential problems that China''s younger, fourth-generation leaders will have to grapple with as they take over the reigns of power.

In the last two decades of the 20th century, China stood out as the world''s star performer in economic growth, thanks to the market-oriented reform that started in 1978. At the turn of the century, the Chinese economy faces a series of challenges to sustain its growth and stability. The two-decade-long rapid growth has effectively strengthened China''s economic power and raised its people''s standard of living. It has also transformed China from a centrally planned command economy into a “socialist market economy”, which operates increasingly in line with capitalist norms. Major structural problems, however, remain and are growing acute. Weakness in the fiscal system breeds rent seeking at the local level and causes tension in the state budget. The flawed financial institutions and the biased ownership structure continue to distort resource allocation and cause huge efficiency losses. Inter-provincial and inter-regional disparity is reaching a level that threatens national unity and social stability. As China joins the World Trade Organization and becomes more integrated into the world economy, it urgently needs to improve the domestic business environment and to beef up indigenous industries for foreign competition.This volume is a collection of papers written by scholars at the East Asian Institute to address those problems during the period 1999-2001. The authors, with their knowledge and experience in China studies, provide in-depth observations and professional analyses of some of the most important issues for the Chinese economy at the turn of the century. Some of the observations and analyses lead to enlightening policy recommendations. The solid scholarship combined with the policy orientation of these papers will appeal greatly to researchers in academia, governments and other institutions. The policy-oriented and fact-based analyses will also be of interest to practitioners in business, including business consultants.

At the beginning of the new century, China''s leadership is preparing the ground for a smooth transfer of power from the third generation to the fourth generation leaders. Politicking among different factions has intensified as top leaders who are slated to step down after the 16th National Party Congress in 2002 jockey to put their imprint on the new power configuration.How have President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji dealt with the leadership succession while at the same time keeping an eye on the economy? What kind of power-sharing will be brokered among the different factions? Are the fourth generation leaders ready to take over the reins of power? And will China be able to maintain high growth even as it goes through this period of power transition? The articles in this publication address those issues.

In the spring of 1992, Deng Xiaoping made a historical tour of south China, popularly known as the Nanxun (”southern tour”). During the tour, he boldly called for more radical economic reform and further opening up of China. The Nanxun has become a political landmark in the history of the People''s Republic of China, much like great events such as the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Deng Xiaoping has left his own legacy for the country. The Nanxun belongs to Deng, just as the 1911 revolution belongs to Sun Yat-sen and the communist revolution to Mao Zedong.In this collection of articles, leading China scholars and experts analyze how the Nanxun has sparked off dynamic economic growth in China and drastically changed the political and social landscape of the country.

The New Economy has hit China, driven by the Internet and e-commerce. China has made a good start in both areas. Since its debut, subscribers to the Internet grew exponentially from a mere 1,600 in 1994 to 16.9 million in mid-2000. E-commerce transactions registered a total revenue of 200 million yuan in 1999, or twice as much as in 1998. B2C e-commerce is expected to grow by 300% in 2000. However, the rapid growth of the sectors is constrained by factors such as a small base of registered users, high costs of using the Internet, government control of information access, and lack of an effective distribution network and financial linkage. Internet businesses are also losing money due to exorbitant charges for telephone lines, an uncertain regulatory environment, and direct competition from the telecommunications operators dominating the market. Nonetheless, the high growth potential of the two sectors is still well recognized by foreign multinationals. Despite China''s manifest prohibition of foreign involvement, foreign companies have managed to enter the Chinese market by forming strategic alliances with domestic concerns. It appears that China prefers a smooth and orderly process of market opening based on a more effective regulatory regime such as licensing arrangements.This book is intended for readers interested in China''s Internet and e-commerce sectors. Businessmen, corporate planners, business associates, researchers, engineers, technologists, academics and students interested in these industries will find the book useful. Focusing on China''s nascent Internet and e-commerce industries, this book presents the historical development, current market status and future growth, as well as discusses the problems and issues facing the two sectors.

With mounting discontent due to widespread unemployment, corruption and misgovernment, the Ninth National People''s Congress in March 2000 was a letdown. Significant though was Premier Zhu Rongji''s announcement at the Congress of the leadership''s decision to go west. While Zhu explained the policy shift as the government''s attempt to develop the country''s inland regions, many are skeptical, dismissing it as a camouflage for the premier''s failure in the reform programmes introduced when he came to power. On the international front, with the US ambivalence in regard to China''s WTO accession and China''s apparent loss of grip on cross-straits relations, the future of the Jiang leadership appears to be in the balance.Against this background of neiyou waihuan (internal disturbance and external threats), will the Jiang-Zhu coalition be able to rise to the occasion and push through its many reform programmes, let alone retain its hold on power? China After the 2000 National People''s Congress, (I) and (II) address this and related questions, giving an in-depth analysis of recent developments and changes in the power relations among China''s top leaders, especially the Jiang-Zhu coalition.

What the Jiang Zemin leadership faced in 1999 can be characterized by a century-old Chinese saying, neiyou waihuan (literally, “internal disturbance and external threat”). What with the worst growth record in a decade, the Falun Gong sect''s siege of Zhongnanhai, Nato''s bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia, and Lee Teng-hui''s new “two-state” theory, the Chinese leadership was under tremendous pressure throughout the year. Many have wondered if that leadership could still hold its own at the turn of the century.This volume provides the reader with an in-depth analysis of how the Chinese leadership coped with the crises during the year. Though there was fair success in managing those crises, serious crises lie ahead which could significantly impact the leadership. China''s economic slowdown may be bottoming out, but increasing Party decay, a growing spiritual vacuum, and volatile cross-strait relations are likely to pose serious threats to the leadership.

The Sino-US trade accord signed in November 1999 in Beijing set a milestone for China''s protracted journey towards becoming a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). China hailed it as a win-win deal. The trade accord showed the commitment of the Chinese government to further transform China into a market economy. The liberalisation measures set forth in the accord may bring about the rise of the private enterprises and further expansion of the services markets, from banking to professional services. However, the implementation of the reform represents a challenge to the Chinese government in managing the potential surge in urban and rural unemployment and the stability of the banking sector. This paper analyses the details of the Sino-US trade accord and its implications for the Chinese economy.

The Party and state leadership in Beijing was rudely awakened to the fact that the state bureaucracies in charge of public security had no idea of Falun Gong''s leadership and its functions on April 25, 1999, when reportedly ten thousand followers in front of Zhongnanhai staged a peaceful and quiet sit-in. Since then the world media has reported events and probable causes for the government to outlaw what was determined to be a religious cult that could disturb peace and stability in China.In this paper, analyses are made of the background and political implications of the sect that had one time dominated the front page of all major newspapers in the world. The authors address themselves to questions such as: What is the nature of Falun Gong? Is it a religious sect, a cult, or a quasi-religious social movement with a hidden political agenda? Is it traditional qigong of a sort that packages well-established belief systems of Buddhism and Taoism? Is it a money-making scheme that satisfies the yearning for spiritual fulfillment for the elderly, the unemployed and the retired? Or is it all of those? Will the Falun Gong phenomenon repeat itself in the future? Was the government crackdown an over-reaction or was it expected? These issues are discussed by the authors in separate sections of this paper.

Since the start of reform two decades ago, China''s economy has experienced spectacular growth. Today China has grown to be the world''s seventh largest economy — or the world''s second largest after the USA in terms of purchasing power parity. China''s society and its political landscape have also been radically changed.This volume serves as a convenient handbook for both scholars and laymen to have a good overview of China''s major developments and transformations in the political, economic, legal and social spheres since 1978. Such a review will be useful for appreciating the enormous problems that will challenge China in its next phase of transition.All in all, China has undoubtedly made impressive progress in most areas of reform in the past; but its remaining reform endeavour and future obstacles it has to face can be even more daunting.

As the financial crisis swept the Asia-Pacific, China seemed to be the one economy in the region which had been left “largely unaffected” for various reasons, including its strong economic and financial fundamentals as well as its strong political will to defend the Renminbi, which had so far firmly stood the ground. However, China''s economy ended 1998 with only 7.8% growth, slightly falling short of its officially pledged target of 8%. Though China in 1998 was still rated as the best-performing economy in the region, its economic growth momentum had visibly slowed down. The Asian contagion had finally caught up with China.It is not certain if the Chinese economy is entering a slower growth era though, in the short run, China can boost economic growth by expanding domestic demand. Slower economic growth for the country will have significant negative effects on its economic reform programmes and social stability.

China''s power sector has performed impressively during the past twenty years in support of economic growth. Faced with the need to expand its power capacity, China is investing heavily in the construction of new power plants and self-financing capability. While the country still depends mainly on domestic capital funds to develop its power industry, foreign capital is increasingly sought to import power equipment and advanced technology.To bring in more capital, China has made efforts to attract foreign financial involvement, mainly in the form of multilateral and bilateral loans. Equally significant in the development of China''s power sector are the establishment of regional power grids and the implementation of electricity tariff reform to tackle the problems of inefficient power distribution and usage.

A surge in demand for oil due to rapid economic growth and stagnation in domestic oil output has turned China into a net oil importer since 1993. Faced with increasing reliance on imports to meet its domestic needs, China now places a high priority on securing long-term stability of its oil supply in the next century. Hence a new oil development strategy focuses on boosting the domestic oil industry and exploiting overseas resources.In this regard, China has pursued an active “oil diplomacy” by signing international oil deals with a diverse range of nations from Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, in particular a series of deals worth US$6 billion with Kazakhstan, Iraq and Venezuela in June 1997. While the overseas ventures will no doubt facilitate China''s integration with the world economy, such internationalisation of China''s oil industry will also carry significant geoeconomic and geopolitical implications for oil-consuming countries.

China''s Ninth National People''s Congress (NPC), convened in March 1998, established a new NPC and a new cabinet. Is NPC still much like a “rubber stamp” as before? Will the new chairman, Li Peng, follow his predecessor, Qiao Shi, use it as a base to expand his power in competition with Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji? More importantly, Zhu Rongji is now the new premier. What are his development strategies for China''s economy? He has set out to shake up China''s unwieldy bureaucracy and to reform its loss-making state-owned enterprises. Can he still accomplish his ambitions in the face of rising unemployment (xiagang)? How will Jiang Zemin manage his relations with both Li Peng and Zhu Rongji?Based on an in-depth analysis of the latest developments in China, this Occasional Paper contains three separate articles, addressing the above issues in order to provide a new perspective on China''s fast-changing political economy in the post-Deng era.

1997 was truly an eventful year for China, with many momentous happenings. In February of that year Deng Xiaoping passed away, thus marking the end of an era. Shortly after, the post-Deng Chinese leadership under Jiang Zemin had to mobilise great efforts to ensure the smooth resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong on June 30. This was then followed by intensive preparation for the holding of the 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in September, which set national priorities for China''s medium- and long-term development as well as decided on the core team of younger leaders responsible for leading China into the 21st century.China is in the midst of great political, economic and social changes, which will intensify each other on account of their speed and scale. History has never before witnessed such a huge country as China industrialising and transforming itself so rapidly and so extensively.Accordingly, China''s success or failure in its domestic development carries serious regional and international implications. There is still a great deal of uncertainty as to how soon in the next century China will become the world''s most powerful economy. But what is happening in China today has already impinged on many aspects of life for people in the Asia-Pacific region, either in terms of growing trade and investment opportunities from China or in terms of regional security.This volume is largely based on public lectures and seminar papers by academic visitors and scholars at the East Asian Institute. Each has been written as a self-contained piece by a China expert, but presented primarily with non-specialist readers in mind.