Asia Policy Briefs

The considerable growth of Chinese direct investment in Germany in recent years is the focus of this policy brief. Cora Jungbluth argues that the German government should pursue the principle of a free trade and investment regime, while insisting that China’s government...

The new Chinese leadership has to overcome several economic and political challenges. After rolling out a surprisingly ambitious reform blueprint in November 2013, Xi Jinping now urgently needs to stabilize the financial sector while implementing enough of the promised...

What are the chances of democratization for the long-time military regime? Marco Bünte argues that the process has been uneven: While there have been positive developments in the area of press freedom, i.e. with regard to political prisoners, ethnic and religious violence...

Thieß Petersen presents the findings of a study of the ifo Institut commissioned by the Bertelsmann Stiftung which shows that the expected welfare gains in the US and the EU would be partially countered by considerable loss of real income in most Asian economies.

What has happened in North Korea since the power transfer to Kim Jong-Un in December 2011 and how can other countries approach them? Rüdiger Frank finds a growing monetization of the North Korean economy and the rise of a new middle class that have the potential to...

The Sino-Japanese relations are determined by the territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and the soaring business ties. He argues that both countries would be well advised to not to escalate the territorial conflict but to concentrate on expanding their trade...

Sebastian Heilmann examines institutional changes and personnel reshuffles in the central government as well as continuities and priority shifts in the governmental agenda. His analysis is based on a variety of Chinese sources that have not been taken into account by Western...

(only available in German language) A representative survey on behalf of the Bertelsmann Stiftung shows that Germans view the rise of Asia with a mixture of confidence and anxiety. Overall, optimism prevails. A great majority is convinced that Germany is well prepared for...

(only available in German language) Minxin Pei discusses the immense challenges the new government is facing on economic, political and social levels. Pei does not expect any great reforms in these areas right now, but assumes that Chinese politics will continue to focus on...

The Chinese development model hardly considered matters of sustainability so far. Fischer elaborates on the government efforts for conversion into a green economy with a strong focus on renewable energies. She demands more support from the west and that cooperation be taken...