I ORIGINAL ARTICLES
- Establishment Mode by Chinese MNEs and the Positive Direction of Institutional Distance
Diego Quer
Abstract
- China’s BRI and the EU’s Global Gateway in Southeast Asia: Conditional Engagement Versus Non-interference
Brice Tseen Fu Lee, Ignacio Vicuña Betancourt, Juan Pablo Sims, Linh Dieu Dinh, Yun-Tso Lee
Abstract
- Identity, Self-interest or Learning? What Influences the De Facto Generation’s China-friendly Attitudes?
Chia-chou Wang
Abstract
- China’s Discourse and Policies Towards the Private Sector Under Xi Jinping: A Continuity or Change?
Megha Shrivastava
Abstract
- The Ambassador of Democracy: Gorbachev’s New Thinking and the Sino-Soviet Summit of 1989
Ebrahim Daryaee Motlagh
Abstract
An Introductory Note for the Articles
- Past research suggests that institutional distance has asymmetric impacts on the decisions of multinational enterprises (MNEs) depending on the direction of the distance. A positive distance refers to an institutionally more developed host country, while a negative distance denotes an institutionally weaker target country. Building upon the directionality logic of institutional distance, this article by Diego Quer investigates these asymmetric effects in the case of emerging market MNEs from China. More precisely, it analyses the influence of a positive direction of institutional distance on the choice between acquisitions and greenfield investments. It also addresses the moderating effect of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and state ownership. Drawing on a sample of 1,273 foreign direct investments by Chinese firms during 2013–2023, the findings suggest that Chinese MNEs are less likely to prefer acquisitions as positive institutional distance increases. Moreover, this negative association is lower in BRI countries and higher for state-owned enterprises.
- This article by Brice Tseen Fu Lee, Ignacio Vicuña Betancourt, Juan Pablo Sims, Linh Dieu Dinh, and Yun-Tso Lee explores the contrasting strategies of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the European Union’s (EU) Global Gateway in Southeast Asia, focusing on the principles of conditional engagement and non-interference. The BRI offers flexible financing with minimal political conditions, allowing recipient countries to maintain sovereignty over domestic affairs, but raising concerns over debt dependency and transparency. In contrast, the Global Gateway emphasises sustainable investments tied to governance reforms, human rights and environmental protections, which, while promoting long-term stability, can be perceived as interference by nations wary of external influence. Through a comparative analysis, this article examines the economic and political implications of both models, assessing their impact on infrastructure development, governance and sovereignty in Southeast Asia. By highlighting the advantages and drawbacks of each approach, the study addresses the broader question of how external powers can effectively engage in the region without undermining national autonomy. The findings suggest that while both initiatives offer significant benefits, their success depends on the specific needs and preferences of individual Southeast Asian nations.
- If Taiwan is to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait, the best choice for the island is to align with the USA while sending goodwill messages to China. This study by Chia-chou Wang examines Taiwan’s de facto generation’s friendliness to China and the influencing factors. A scale developed on identity theory to measure the generation’s China-friendly attitude returned an average score of 2.87 out of 4. A mixed-method approach was used: Regression analysis was employed to verify the hypotheses; meanwhile, interview data were used to validate the link between the theoretical reasoning and social realities. The regression model based on social identity, rational choice and political socialisation theories explained 37.96% of the variation in attitude. The findings show that both the evaluation of self-interest and belief in equality trump advocacy for Taiwan’s independence in explaining this generation’s China-friendly attitude, contrary to their stereotype of being anti-China. This study’s findings shed light on which China-friendly policies can be pursued by the Taiwanese government while considering the attitude of Taiwan’s youth.
- This article by Megha Shrivastava examines whether China’s official discourse and policies towards the private sector under Xi Jinping are a significant departure from Xi’s predecessors or a tactical adjustment. The article highlights that though the academic debates on the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) policies towards the private sector received great attention, the evolving causes behind changing policies remain underexamined. This article adopts a comparative approach and underscores the policies and discourses shaping private sector development under Xi Jinping and his predecessors. It then highlights how a transformed approach is linked to the evolving nature of the CPC’s official discourse. The article finally examines how Xi Jinping’s policies towards the private sector are a renewed strategy towards China’s private sector development. In its analysis, the article lays special focus on China’s 2020 tech crackdown and argues that China’s experimentation with its technology enterprises is a part and parcel of a broader and evolving approach towards governing the private sector.
- This study by Ebrahim Daryaee Motlagh is an attempt to revisit the Sino-Soviet Summit of 1989 with an emphasis on relevant diplomatic activities, leadership views and intelligence assessments. More specifically, it focuses on the challenges and twists in the Sino-Soviet diplomatic course to this achievement. In doing so, the study puts the 1989 summit in the context of regional rivalries and Cold War multilateralism and discusses with examples how Mikhail Gorbachev’s foreign policy doctrine and his visit to China affected these dynamics. The study argues that this climactic event and its aftermath played a significant role in shaping Soviet–Chinese and then Russian–Chinese relations and can be considered the most significant achievement in Gorbachev’s Asian policy in the late 1980s. In this regard, the article concludes that the diplomatic course to the 1989 summit can display the ‘de-ideologisation of interstate relations’ to the benefit of more tangible bilateral issues such as peacebuilding, border security and economy. It also concludes that some aspects of this peacemaking were problematic to the USA and the Asian allies of China and the Soviet Union.
II REVIEW ESSAY
- Prem Poddar and Lisa Lindkvist Zhang, Through the India-China Border, Kalimpong in the Himalayas
Dhriti Roy
Abstract
- Ian Williams, Vampire State: The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Economy
Kalyani Yeola
Abstract
- Margaret Hillenbrand, On the Edge: Feeling Precarious in China
Ann Elza Varughese
Abstract
- Thomas Meyer and José Luís de Sales Marques (Eds.), The EU and China: Avoiding a New Cold War
Rajeev Ranjan Sinha
Abstract
