Publication Date: 2014

Publication Name: The Globalization of Chinese Business

This article explores the relationship between Chinese officials and Western European industrialists, revealing that in the second half of the 1950s, there already was a specific Western European interest to cater to ... more abstractThis article explores the relationship between Chinese officials and Western European industrialists, revealing that in the second half of the 1950s, there already was a specific Western European interest to cater to China's high market potential, and that this was met with favour on the Chinese side. In order to become a strong and independent country, PRC was especially interested to evaluate the most variegated range of offers in the chemical and energy sectors. By looking at the early achievements of the Italian National Hydrocarbon Holding (Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, ENI), this article will show how ENI's offer in terms of technology and engineering met the favour of Chinese counterparts in the beginning of the 1960s, just when the local petroleum industry was moving towards self-reliance, which China ultimately achieved, albeit for a short time. Sources show that, despite confronting economic and political constraints, PRC decision makers were perfectly aware of prices, commercial strategies, as well as of state-of-the-art technology of the time. Furthermore, China's commercial cooperation with Western European companies in the 1950s-1960s meant that Chinese leaders had, early on, an opportunity to evaluate market alternatives to the tightly constraining alliance with the Socialist bloc.

Business History, Contemporary History, History of Socialist Economies, Economic and business history of China and Hong Kong, and Italy-China relations

After three decades of sharp economic growth, China needs to shift towards quality development. This transformation will only be possible if the country will turn into a modern consumer-oriented society capable of fue... more abstractAfter three decades of sharp economic growth, China needs to shift towards quality development. This transformation will only be possible if the country will turn into a modern consumer-oriented society capable of fuelling the economy without being anymore dependent on low-cost manufacturing and export. The slowing-down in economic growth of the past few years has led to an increasing attention to the profound social changes which have accompanied the China miracle from 1978 onwards: extreme polarization of society coupled with population aging and insufficient growth of the middle class. Will China be able to ride the tiger? The present paper will address the response devised by leaders Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang to tackle such a potentially explosive situation. Il prodigioso sviluppo della Cina potrà definirsi veramente maturo solo quando il paese avrà risolto alcune complesse problematiche che i cambiamenti sociali che hanno accompagnato il miracolo economico hanno fatto emergere. L’invecchiamento progressivo della popolazionee l’esigenza correlata di adattare il sistema pensionistico, la formazionedi una classe media che reclama i propri diritti e le disuguaglianze tra città e campagna sono questioni ancora aperte, che la nuova leadership dovrà affrontare quanto prima per raggiungere quell’ideale di società armoniosa che è ancora lungi dal realizzarsi.

Chinese Studies, Welfare State, Post-Socialist Societies, China studies, Contemporary China, and 1 more

Socialist Economics, Chinese Studies, Business History, Chinese history (History), Cold War history, and 1 more

Economic History, Business History, Chinese history (History), and Cold War history

Negli ultimi due decenni la Cina si è imposta come attore economico globale. Ma quali dinamiche percorrono la società cinese e quali squilibri la segnano? I leader che hanno governato la Cina nel decennio appena concl... more abstractNegli ultimi due decenni la Cina si è imposta come attore economico globale. Ma quali dinamiche percorrono la società cinese e quali squilibri la segnano? I leader che hanno governato la Cina nel decennio appena concluso hanno cercato di affrontare i problemi sociali generati dall’eredità del maoismo e dalla tumultuosa crescita innescata dalle riforme che, a partire dal 1978, hanno fatto transitare il Paese dall’economia pianificata a quella di mercato. Un nodo chiave, tuttora non risolto, è quello del divario tra città e campagna, esasperato da una normativa sulla residenza estremamente vincolante, la cui riforma è in cantiere da oltre un ventennio. La strada per la costruzione di una società più equa passa per la riduzione delle disuguaglianze e la creazione di una numerosa classe media.

Economic Development, Contemporary China, and Civil Society

Entrepreneurship, Chinese history (History), and International Business & Globalization

... Biographical notes: Valeria Zanier holds an MA in Foreign Modern Languages (University of Perugia, 1996) and a Postgraduate Diploma in ... a new model, called the 'Sustainable Communities Strategy' (2003... more abstract... Biographical notes: Valeria Zanier holds an MA in Foreign Modern Languages (University of Perugia, 1996) and a Postgraduate Diploma in ... a new model, called the 'Sustainable Communities Strategy' (2003), aiming at developing and ameliorating a ring of satellite towns (70 or ...

Multidisciplinary and Chinese Culture

Publication Date: 2008

Publication Name: International Journal of Chinese Culture and Management

The present chapter will analyse a crucial moment in the special relationship developed by Britain, Hong Kong and Maoist China during the Cold War. The year 1967 can be considered a landmark for two very relevant even... more abstractThe present chapter will analyse a crucial moment in the special relationship developed by Britain, Hong Kong and Maoist China during the Cold War. The year 1967 can be considered a landmark for two very relevant events: the highly politicized riots which raged the Colony from spring to autumn, and the sterling devaluation which happened in late November. Both events marked the beginning of a new consciousness in the British government of Hong Kong and its people as a modern entity that wanted to be treated fairly. Many scholars have seen in the riots of 1966 and 1967 a potent trigger for the long overdue social and political reforms which were eventually enacted in Hong Kong in the 1970s. The reaction of the business community at the 1967 devaluation represented the first independent stance of the Colony, which would eventually lead to its detachment from the Sterling Area under new political circumstances in early 1970s. Although the riots and the devaluation are completely independent events, the chapter will argue that there is a link which ties the responses devised by the London and the Colonial government to handle local reactions. Particularly, the chapter will highlight the relevance of economic interest of the three players as opposed to the need of political control and to the conservance of outdated metropolis-colony relations.

British Imperial and Colonial History (1600 - ), Contemporary China, Cold War history, History of Hong Kong, and Economic and business history of China and Hong Kong

Publication Name: Priscilla Roberts and Odd Arne Westad, eds., China, Hong Kong and the World in the Long 1970s

“With a Little Help from the State”: Endogenous and Exogenous Dynamics in China’s Cluster Economy District economics has only recently become an established field of research in China. This chapter aims to help define... more abstract“With a Little Help from the State”: Endogenous and Exogenous Dynamics in China’s Cluster Economy District economics has only recently become an established field of research in China. This chapter aims to help define more precisely the nature of Chinese districts, discover what role they have played in China’s dramatic economic growth, and interpret interactions between the Chinese and more mature economies in light of the developments in and interplay between districts. It will do so by analyzing the nature and structure of the Wenzhou district economy, concentrating on the role played by endogenous and exogenous factors in the process of globalization. The chapter will first of all address the role of trade – per se exogenous factor – but an element so closely tied with the structure of the Wenzhou economy to be regarded as endogenous. Secondly, the study will focus on the role of informal finance, and on its recent impact during the global crisis. In both cases, the analysis will highlight the interplay of local institutions and central government, pointing out how Wenzhou’s features as an industrial district do not fit neatly into an already established model. Rather, it can be described as a blend of Asian and Western features, where endogenous and exogenous factors were both responsible for its development. Keywords District economics; cluster; globalization; industrial policy; trade; informal finance; financial crisis.

Chinese Studies and International Business & Globalization

Economic History and Contemporary China

History of Capitalism, Taiwan Studies, Contemporary China, and Hong Kong History and Politics

Business History, Chinese history (History), Economic and Business History of Contemporary Italy, Cold War history, and Italian Economic History

China’s opening up to capitalism has witnessed the emergence of private entrepreneurs, a group which raised many expectations. Will they form a new social force or will they converge towards the State? Although schola... more abstractChina’s opening up to capitalism has witnessed the emergence of private entrepreneurs, a group which raised many expectations. Will they form a new social force or will they converge towards the State? Although scholarship provided enough evidence for the second hypothesis, however the media sector might add a more multifaceted interpretation. Some of China’s most successful entrepreneurs are active in media, their companies are completely privately managed, they are highly profitable. Since China entered WTO, there have been relevant cases of small media private companies merging into state groups. Transnational capital, though being kept for many years at the margins of the field has been recently welcomed into media industry. Do these signs mean that the Government is aiming at the creation of entertainment, news and culture companies with market orientation and with less government backing? How is this new economic strategy combining with the exerting of China’s soft power?

Media Studies, Contemporary China, Transition Economies, and Cultural Industry

Contemporary China, Transition Economies, Social Darwinism, and Media Culture and Creative Industries