Globalizing South China

This insightful account demonstrates that capitalism in China has a history and a geography, and combines perspectives from both to demonstrate that regional economic restructuring in South China is far from an economic 'miracle's. Find out more information about the RGS-IBG journals by following the links below: AREA: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0004-0894 The Geographical Journal: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0016-7398 Transactions of the Insititute of British Geographers: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0020-2754

This book scrutinizes the frequently ignored agency of Global South sub-national actors in their interactions with China, using a multidisciplinary approach and eleven case studies. Contributors examine China’s presence in the Global South on a country-by-country basis, analyzing how various non-state and sub-state actors are responding to the rise of China and whether they are attracted by the cooperation models that China proposes or deterred by its new assertiveness. Contributions cover diverse and heterogeneous geographies of the Global South, ranging from Papua-New Guinea to Argentina and from Madagascar to the Russian Far East. Examining such diverse cases, contributors focus on two interrelated questions: What is the actual economic, political, and social impact of China’s growing presence in the Global South? And, critically, how do the citizens of the Global South understand and interpret China’s rise? Taken together, the case studies develop a comprehensive picture of a complex and sometimes problematic process of China’s inclusion into the economic, social, and political realities of the Global South. This book identifies and fills the gaps in the existing literature on China’s rise by offering a nuanced perspective on China’s relations with the countries of the Global South that captures such variables as social context, intersubjective meanings, and identities. By focusing China’s relations with the Global South, it also provides an important addition to the literature on international politics of development and China’s role in the transformation of the South-South cooperation.

This Palgrave Pivot uses a simple model from game theory to explain the behavior of countries disputing ownership of resources and of small islands in the South China Sea. It argues that the rapid transformation of the region's economy - the rise of Factory Asia – is not being acknowledged, leading countries to take chances beyond what a rational picture of costs and benefits would suggest. Regional economic cooperation may be a viable alternative to the present conflicts. However, the varied experience of regional initiatives in Southeast Asia provides a cautionary note that, while there is the potential for peaceful development of the South China Sea, there are significant challenges to structuring successful programs.

This book seeks to illuminate what China's Belt and Road initiative truly means for the global south, offering historical context and explaining the vision that the Chinese State has in coordinating actions in the territorial, political and economic spheres in a multilateral pretension. How does the BRI generate economic returns for China, and what are the political and economic impacts of the BRI? In this provocative and deeply researched new work, the authors provide a new framework for understanding the BRI, one which will be useful to scholars, policymakers and economists.

Only decades ago, the population of Guangzhou was almost wholly Chinese. Today, it is a truly global city, a place where people from around the world go to make new lives, find themselves, or further their careers. A large number of these migrants are small-scale traders from Africa who deal in Chinese goods—often knockoffs or copies of high-end branded items—to send back to their home countries. In The World in Guangzhou, Gordon Mathews explores the question of how the city became a center of “low-end globalization” and shows what we can learn from that experience about similar transformations elsewhere in the world. Through detailed ethnographic portraits, Mathews reveals a world of globalization based on informality, reputation, and trust rather than on formal contracts. How, he asks, can such informal relationships emerge between two groups—Chinese and sub-Saharan Africans—that don't share a common language, culture, or religion? And what happens when Africans move beyond their status as temporary residents and begin to put down roots and establish families? Full of unforgettable characters, The World in Guangzhou presents a compelling account of globalization at ground level and offers a look into the future of urban life as transnational connections continue to remake cities around the world.

Global Hong Kong locates Hong Kong in the contemporary globalizing world. Hong Kong, as the authors argue, is an archetypal place, sitting at the intersection of East and West. It is also a major center for global capital flows and world trade. Moreover, in recent years, the island's global cultural power has become increasingly evident, as Hong Kong popular culture has spread to the West via a booming film industry. While looking at issues of postcoloniality, transnationalism and economic globalization, Wong and McDonogh focus on the new cultures and social formations of contemporary Hong Kong, as well as the transformation of the physical city itself. They also trace the new interconnections - economic, demographic, social and cultural - between Hong Kong and other parts of the worldthat have benn fostered by globalization. Books in this series look at how nations and regions across the world are navigating the tumultuous currents of globalization. Concise, descriptive, interdisciplinary, and theoretically informed, they serve as ideal introductions to the peoples and places of our increasingly globalized world.

Most global citizens are well aware of the explosive growth of the Chinese economy. Indeed, China has famously become the "workshop of the world." Yet, while China watchers have shed much light on the country's internal dynamics--China's politics, its vast social changes, and its economic development--few have focused on how this increasingly powerful nation has become more active and assertive throughout the world. In China Goes Global, eminent China scholar David Shambaugh delivers the book that many have been waiting for--a sweeping account of China's growing prominence on the international stage. Thirty years ago, China's role in global affairs beyond its immediate East Asian periphery was decidedly minor and it had little geostrategic power. Today however, China's expanding economic power has allowed it to extend its reach virtually everywhere--from mineral mines in Africa, to currency markets in the West, to oilfields in the Middle East, to agribusiness in Latin America, to the factories of East Asia. Shambaugh offers an enlightening look into the manifestations of China's global presence: its extensive commercial footprint, its growing military power, its increasing cultural influence or "soft power," its diplomatic activity, and its new prominence in global governance institutions. But Shambaugh is no alarmist. In this balanced and well-researched volume, he argues that China's global presence is more broad than deep and that China still lacks the influence befitting a major world power--what he terms a "partial power." He draws on his decades of China-watching and his deep knowledge of the subject, and exploits a wide variety of previously untapped sources, to shed valuable light on China's current and future roles in world affairs.

Since the South China Sea opened to the outside world as a commercial port in 111 BC, it has undergone dramatic changes and experienced rises and falls along with the economic and cultural development of the Maritime Silk Road. This book reviews the history and analyzes the current situation of the South China Sea. The scope of the book centers around economic, trade and cultural development, which is the starting point and main theme. Political and military aspects have also been covered but are only pursued to the point where they are necessary for illustrating the background.

Addresses the rise of China and its impacts on Southeast Asia's economies and businesses, especially on those of ethnic Chinese. Also discusses Southeast Asian government policies, particularly their economic and business policies, towards local Chinese, and Southeast Asian Chinese businesses, both conglomerates and SMEs, in an era of globalization.