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| Special Report | China Highlight | Programs | Calendar | Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2004 | |||||
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China and the WTO: The First Two Yearsby Dr. Penelope B. Prime China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December, 2001. This event—the culmination of years of difficult negotiations and compromise—was historic. China’s membership meant the largest economy outside of the international trading system was brought into a regularized process of meeting timetables and following rules with respect to a vast array of trade, investment and governance activity. The extent and interrelationships of these commitments, if successful, will result in a major liberalization of not only China’s foreign trade regime, but of the economy overall. From the WTO members’ point of view, negotiations with China over what was required for membership were especially difficult for two reasons. First, members were concerned that China’s economy was not a market-based system. Since the development of certain sectors of China’s economy were quite advanced but were often dominated by state-owned companies and state trading monopolies, members feared unfair competition in these areas. Second, members were not confident that China’s central government would be able to enforce the terms agreed upon. Because of the strength of sector-based ministries, and weakened control of the central government over localities, members worried that the Chinese officials who made the commitments would not have sufficient power to ensure compliance. One and a half years after joining, China’s and the world’s attention is indeed on compliance. Economic malaise, job loss, and trade imbalances in many parts of the world have caused analysts and politicians, in developing and developed countries alike, to look for reasons for these problems. Many economies are reluctantly adjusting to changes caused by China’s impressive entry into international markets. At the same time people in China are dealing with the wrenching transition that has been going on for two decades, which received added impetus from WTO induced liberalization. China’s WTO CommitmentsWhile the negotiations for China’s entry into WTO were complex, implementation of the agreements will be even more so. The number of individual commitments and extent of market liberalizing goals are both vast. The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has identified over 700 commitments for trade regime reform and over 7000 goods and services for market access liberalization (www.gao.gov). China’s WTO agreement deals with eight areas: trade framework, import regulation, export regulation, trading rights and industrial policies, agriculture, services, intellectual property rights, and safeguards and other trade remedies. The agreements also vary by type, and include issues related to definitions, reporting, transparency, laws and regulations, guidance, adherence to WTO, and nondiscrimination. Further, some of the agreements have a phase-in timetable stretching to 2016. China’s commitments regarding intellectual property rights and export regulation, however, were all due to be implemented upon accession, and the trade framework commitments were to be completed by the end of 2002. The commitments regarding the process of standardizing the technical barriers to trade as part of the import regulations were to be finished by the end of 2003. Each of the other four categories has longer phase-in periods before being complete, but a substantial part of these commitments were to be completed upon becoming a member as well. This article is based on a chapter for China and the Challenge of Economic Globalization: The Impact of WTO Membership, edited by Hung-gay Fung, C. H. Pei, and Kevin H. Zhang, to be published by M.E. Sharpe. Recently Released New Economic Figures from China The following economic statistics are compiled from Chinese official releases in recent months. Sources used include People's Daily, press releases from the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China
PRC Ambassador Visited Atlanta Presentation on “Currency Values in China: Policy or Politics” Dr. Gene Chang, professor of economics at the University of Toledo and co-editor of the China Economic Review, presented his research on currency valuation and the foreign exchange system in China on November 11th, 2003, at Technology Square on the Georgia Tech campus. Dr. Chang emphasized the importance of the two-way relationship between the U.S. and China. In August, China overtook Mexico as the U.S.’s 2nd largest trade partner based on total trade volume. Using current exchange rate conversion values, China’s economy is one tenth the size of the U.S. economy, but if purchasing power is taken into consideration, China’s economy is over half the size of the U.S. On the value of China’s currency, the Renminbi or Yuan, Dr. Chang summarized a wide variety of existing views on the subject. Depending on how estimates take non-traded goods into account, results range from 50 to 10% undervalued. Dr. Chang’s results suggest that the Renminbi is approximately 20% undervalued at this time. He suggested that continued free trade and gradual revaluation of the Renminbi would be the best strategy going forward. Atlanta Chinese Communities Celebrated Chinese New Year
The Chinese Language Program at Emory University by Dr. Hong Li Established in 1996, the Chinese program at Emory University is housed in the Department of Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures. In the past seven years, the Chinese program has expanded rapidly. It offers a major and a minor in Chinese Studies, combining extensive language training with in-depth study of Chinese culture and society. In the fall of 1997, only two sections of Chinese 101 were offered at Emory. Now the Chinese language courses at Emory include four years of instruction in modern Mandarin Chinese and classes in business Chinese and classical Chinese. Our enrollment has increased dramatically. In the fall semester of the 2003-2004 academic year, the enrollment in Chinese 101 exceeded 70 students. For the first time, we offered five sections of Chinese 101. Chinese language instruction at Emory aims at integrating listening comprehension, speaking, reading comprehension, and writing skills in order to help the learners communicate meaningfully, effectively, and creatively in Chinese. The student-centered curriculum emphasizes the development of Chinese communication skills. The first-year and second-year course meet five hours per week, while the third and fourth year courses meet three hours per week. In a time of globalization and internationalization, special knowledge in Chinese provides students with a valuable preparation in China-related fields. Some of our major or minor graduates were accepted at prestigious graduate schools in the United States, while others pursued graduate studies at Hopkins-Nanjing Center in China. Many students also found employment that can utilize their Chinese skills. The Chinese program at Emory also provides students with various study abroad opportunities. Emory’s summer program takes students to exciting cities of Beijing, Xi’an and Hong Kong. Students earn eight academic credits in Chinese language and history, and visit numerous historical and scenic sites in China. Emory-approved semester programs include CET’s programs in Beijing and Harbin, and CIEE’s Taipei program. Financial aid and scholarships are available to qualified students. Currently the Chinese program has five full-time faculty members. We are not only expanding the Chinese curriculum on campus, but also collaborating with the local Chinese community to offer more internships to students. Dr. Hong Li is a Senior Lecturer of Chinese in the Department of Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures at Emory University. For more information, please contact: hli01@emory.edu The International Center for Democratic Governance’s Sino-American Joint Training Program in Public Administration
To carry out these programs, ICDG partners with various provincial administration institutes, such as the Beijing Administrative College, the Qinghai Administration Institute, and the Sichuan Administration Institute. Training programs have been successfully completed in a total of six provinces around the country, and the Center has received requests from many more. Typically, the training programs begin with three weeks of instruction in China. ICDG, as a division of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at UGA, is able to engage expert faculty members from throughout the Institute and University (such as the School of Public and International Affairs) to provide instruction. Additionally, ICDG recruits effective and innovative practitioners from around Georgia, both from state agencies and local governments, to teach. Courses are tailored to fit the needs of the partner administration institutes and the governments they serve, and are each taught for a half day over a one-week period. Past topics have included public policy analysis, program evaluation, public budget and finance, local environmental management, World Trade Organization membership, e-Government, human resource management and personnel administration, leadership development, administrative law, and urban and regional planning. This first phase of training is followed by a two-week study tour in the U.S. Training delegations begin in Athens to deepen understanding of some of the theoretical underpinnings of American federalism. Then the group is hosted by a Georgian city or county government, where the Chinese officials get to meet with various elected and non-elected public officials, as well as with business and nonprofit leaders. Next, a visit to Atlanta and with state officials allows the trainees to understand the legislative process, state agencies, and the responsibilities of state government. The program is concluded in Washington, D.C., with meetings with federal officials. These fora with their American counterparts allow the Chinese public managers to gain a better understanding of American government, intergovernmental relations, and three-sectored society. Also, they return to their various responsibilities with new knowledge and skills to help govern in a free-market system and aid the slow transition to democracy. In 2003, ICDG held training programs in Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Xi’an. Training delegates visited Athens, Atlanta, Savannah, Rome, and Washington, D.C. Director Chen Daichang, of the Research Office of the Sichuan Provincial Government Personnel Department, wrote after participating in a Sino-American Joint Training Program, “The world history, especially that of the U.S., demonstrates that effective public policy has become an indispensable key factor to regulate market economy and societal development.” And Wang Xiongyi, an accountant for the Beijing Municipal Government, states why the partnership between two seemingly different nations works: “We’re all working for the people.” For more information:, please visit ICDG web site: http://www.icdg.uga.edu/initiatives/sino_us/
Tel:404-347-9440,
www.gatechhotel.com The Annual International Conference of the Chinese Economists Society to Be Held at Atlanta in June 31 and August 1 by Dr. Haizheng Li The Chinese Economists Society (CES) will host its annual international conference in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., from July 31 to August 1, 2004. The conference will take place at Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, a world class facility at the new Technology Square Complex in midtown Atlanta. The theme of the Conference is “Technology, Human Capital, and Economic Development.” The sponsors for the CES 2004 Conference at Atlanta include: Georgia Institute of Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tianjin University of Finance & Economics, and Hunan University. The CES is a highly influential worldwide professional association that is actively involved in the study of the Chinese economy. It is a registered non-profit organization in the United States with about 500 members worldwide. It holds winter conferences with the American Economic Association and summer conferences in China and in the United States. The CES also publishes a highly respected refereed journal in the United States, the China Economic Review, and runs short-term teaching programs in China supported by the Ford Foundation and other funds. For updated information about the Conference, please visit the conference web site: http://china-ces.org/ces2004/. For additional information, please contact Dr. Haizheng Li, Co-chair of the Organizing Committee, Vice President of the Chinese Economists Society, School of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0615, e-mail: haizheng.li@econ.gatech.edu, phone 404-894-3542, fax: 404-894-18 The Conference on the Northeast Asian Security Calls for Participants Renmin University of China and London School of Economics will cosponsor an international conference on "The Northeast Asian Security: The Mixture of Traditional and Untraditional Issues” in Beijing on 2-4 April 2004. The panels of the conference will include:
1. Nuclear Security
in
2. Energy Issues in
3. Human Security
in
4. Regional
Cooperation in
5.
The Renmin University of China will provide three-day free accommodation and meals for all participants who present papers to the conference. The papers will be published in both Chinese and English after the conference. Any one who is interested in the conference, please provide outline of your paper (no more than 500 words), a brief c.v., and the copy of the first page of your passport.
The deadline of the
application is
Professor Xinning Song
A-604,
Centre for European Studies
Tel: 8610-6251 2824 Fax: 8610-6251 1232 E-mail: cesruc@ruc.edu.cn or xnsong@cesruc.org
This
list of events is for
the period November 2003 through
April 2004
Presentation
on the "US Strategy toward China and Its Impact on China,"
by Professor Wentao Hu, Deputy Dean
of School of Legal Studies, Guangdong University of Foreign
Studies, Guangzhou, China. Professor Hu is a visiting scholar at Georgia Tech during
2004. Date: Thursday,
25 March 2004, 3:00 - 4:40
p.m. Sponsor: Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute
of Technology. Venue:
Room 319, Student Center, Georgia Tech campus.
For further information call Dr. John Garver at 404-894-6846.
Panel
discussion on "Democracy in China."
Chaired by Dr. Yawei Liu,
Associate Director of the Carter Center's China
Village Elections Project. Date:
Thursday, 15 April 2004, 7 - 8:30 p.m..
Sponsor: The Carter Center Village Elections Project.
Venue: The Carter Center, One Copenhill, 453 Freedom Parkway,
Atlanta. Advance tickets
necessary and available at 404-420-3804.
For further information call Dr. Yawei Liu at 404-420-5196.
Public
talk on "China Today: The
Persistence of the Past," by
Dr. Jonathan Spence, Professor of History, Yale University.
Date: 16 April
2004, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Sponsors:
the Department of History and the Center for Asian Studies, Georgia State University.
Venue: room 939
(9th floor), Troy Moore Library in the GSU General Classroom
Building on the corner of Decatur Street and Peachtree Center Avenue.
For further information contact Dr. Susan Walcott at 404-651-1825,
email swalcott@gsu.edu. Public talk on "How Dynasties Fall: A Seventeenth Century View," by Dr. Jonathan Spence, Professor of History, Yale University. Date: 16 April 2004, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m., Sponsors: Georgia Institute of Technology, School of History, Technology, and Society, and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Venue: Wiley Room, Gilbert Memorial Library, Georgia Tech campus. For further information contact Dr. Hanchao Lu at 404-894-6844.
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Special consultant to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and
former ambassador to Canada (1992-97), Mr. Zhang Yijun visited
Atlanta on 19-21 November 2003. Ambassador Zhang was accompanied by
two prominent “America hands,” Professor Tao Wenzhao of the
Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, and Professor Yuan Zhen, vice president of the China
Institute of International Studies --- a think thank associated with
the MFA. On the Georgia Tech campus Ambassador Zhang gave a public
talk on Sino-American relations. He and his group also visited
leaders of the Georgia State government, including Secretary of
State Cathy Cox, under the auspices of State Senator Sam Zamarripa.
He also visited the Carter Center hosted by the director of that
Center’s China Village Elections Project, Dr. Yawei Liu. A small
dinner was also hosted for Dr. Zhang’s delegation at the Cherokee
Country Club to provide further opportunity to meet with regional
governmental, business, and academic leaders. This was Ambassador
Zhang’s first visit to the south, and he conveyed his surprise over
Atlanta’s relatively high level of knowledge of and enthusiasm about
China. 
January 22 was the traditional Chinese lunar New Year, the beginning
of the year of Monkey. Atlanta area Chinese communities held various
activities in recent days to celebrate their traditional holiday.
The 
central
government direct-jurisdiction city" after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.
Wanzhou has