No Meeting- Have a great Chūnjíe!

No meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6th, as everyone seems to be quite busy.

We intend in restart the discussion group February after the Spring festival. We are looking for more people who want to help lead our group. If you have suggestions for improvement or would like to serve on the steering committee, please let us know.

Have a great Chūnjíe!

The China Brand: Assessing China's Soft Power

The topic of this week's discussion is, "The China Brand: Assessing China's Soft Power." Soft power is a term coined by Political Scientist Joseph Nye, who describes it as follows:

"The basic concept of power is the ability to influence others to get them to do what you want. There are three major ways to do that: one is to threaten them with sticks; the second is to pay them with carrots; the third [soft power] is to attract them or co-opt them, so that they want what you want. If you can get others to be attracted, to want what you want, it costs you much less in carrots and sticks" Source

When: Tuesday, December 23rd at 7:30pm
Where: Seating area, City Shop Panyu Lu (click for directions). The expectation is that everyone purchases a small drink or snack.
We expect a somewhat smaller group this week, as the Christmas holiday is soon upon us. As a bonus to those who do attend, we will provide a free selection of Christmas cookies.

Readings (They are listed in order of importance. Please read as far as you can.)

1. "China's Soft Power Initiative," The Council on Foreign Relations
2. "The Rise of China's Soft Power," The Wall Street Journal
3. "Can China's Soft Power Offensive Succeed?" Asia Media
   

Optional

1. NOTE: This is a PDF Download. "China as an Emerging Soft Power: Winning Hearts and Minds through Communicating with Foreign Publics," Xiaoling Zhang.
   

Developing China's Inner Provinces

The topic of this week's discussion will be "Developing China's Inner Provinces." This week, we will look inwards into China and then follow it next week with another more outward-oriented topic. ALL are welcome to attend (not only JiaoTong University students). We certainly hope to have more Chinese students in attendance this week.

When: Tuesday, December 16th at 7:30pm
Where: Seating area, City Shop Panyu Lu (click for directions). The expectation, in turn, is that everyone purchases a small drink or snack. They have teas for 6 kuai, so hopefully that's not prohibitively expensive for anyone.

Readings:

1. "The Great Western Development Strategy," The China Business Review NOTE: The municipality profiles at the end of this article are optional.
   
2. "China's 'New Socialist Countryside,'" Business Week
3. "Chinese Grads 'Go West' to Serve in Provinces," The Washington Post
4. "India Debating Implications of China's Western Development," The Hindu
   

Optional:

1. "China's "Go West" Policy has Mixed Result," China Supply Chain Council
2. "Your Guide to the 'New Socialist Countryside,'" The China Daily
3. "New Socialist Countryside - What Does It Mean? Views on implementing the government's plan," The Beijing Review

Discussion Questions:

1. The Go West policy allocates funds to five areas (infrastructure, environment, local industry, science & technology & education, and investment environment). Which is most important?
   
2. How do incentives for multi-nationals and large domestic firms differ, if at all, to “go west”?
   
3. Is China’s “Go West” policy primarily a political and military strategy rather than an economic one?
4. For Chinese students: Would you apply for the “Grads Go West” scheme? Why or why not?
5. Are local governments a hindrance to China's westward development?
6. Will the financial stimulus package announced in September support the expansion of China’s “Go West” project?

China and the World Financial Crisis

The discussion topic for our first meeting is "China and the World Financial Crisis."



ONLY JiaoTong University students may attend our first meeting. Please bring your student ID card. Because our first meeting will be held on the XuJiaHui campus, this is a necessary security measure. We are currently considering off-campus locations for future meetings, in which case those meetings would be open to those who are not JiaoTong students.

When: Tuesday, December 9th at 7:30pm
Where: Meet in front of Tao Li Yuan
(From there we will proceed to our meeting room, which has yet to be confirmed)
Again, ONLY JiaoTong University students may attend the first meeting.

Below are the three short articles that will inform this week's discussion, along with two background pieces. As you read, please post comments to this blog!

Readings:

1. "Reflating the Dragon," The Economist
2. "Dr Keynes's Chinese Patient," The Economist
3. "China Investment Corp. won't invest massively overseas till uncertainty clears," China View (Xinhua)
   

Background (optional):

1. "The Origins of the Financial Crisis (in the US)," The Brookings Institution
2. "The Perils of Incrementalism," The Economist

Potential Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think of assertion in The Economist that the political signal of the state's readiness to bailout is more important than the economic content of the stimulus package itself?
2. What sectors and regions are likely to be most helped by China’s stimulus package?
3. Is the China Investment Corporation (CIC) being too cautious in planning to wait out the financial turmoil?
   
4. If the world’s recovery looks to be “L-shaped” rather than “V-shaped,” what form might China’s recovery take?
5. What are the lessons for China (and the world) moving forward?
   

Welcome to China EDG!

The China Economics Discussion Group (China EDG) brings together Chinese and international students to discuss the economic issues facing China today.

We will meet weekly on Tuesday evenings near Shanghai JiaoTong University, XuJiaHui Campus to discuss a topic or host a speaker. Each week will have a brief reading assignment (news story, journal article, etc.) that will serve to inform the week’s discussion. In addition to economics, we may also branch out to closely related fields—such as business, politics, and culture. Discussions will be held primarily in English.

We hope to see you at our weekly meetings!

Please direct any questions to chinaedg.email @ gmail.com