Examining the importance of the Sino-Africa swap formula in creating backward and forward linkages

2020 ◽  
pp. 205789112093815
Author(s):  
Ehizuelen Michael Mitchell Omoruyi
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Government ◽  
Infrastructure Projects ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
Resource Wealth ◽  
Backward And Forward Linkages

African nations are trying to diversify their economies in order to induce industrialization that will help them eradicate poverty and create employment for their young workforce. One of the continent’s key challenges continues to be the shortage of physical infrastructure. Therefore, finding ways to overcome this problem has become of large importance. China has identified this and has thus enhanced its involvement in Africa primarily via its swap formula. The formula enables the financing and development of infrastructure that African nations critically need by depending on their resource wealth. However, the mounting involvement of the formula has continued to stimulate questions on its impact regarding creating backward and forward linkages. As such, one of the significant aims of this article is to identify linkages that emerge from the Chinese swap formula that involve long-term concessionary loans from China’s Exim Bank to finance major infrastructure projects in Africa. It examines whether the swap formula is creating backward and forward linkages in Africa, and what the infrastructure leads to concerning creating novel opportunities for the continent, by theoretically answering this question: “Can China’s swap formula create backward and forward linkages?” Furthermore, the article theoretically identifies the benefits and linkages of the formula via a case study – that of Abuja-Kaduna railway. Arguably, the article discovers that the formula has multiple benefits and linkages for Africa. It is also seen by the Chinese government as a way of fulfilling its strategic goals in Africa.

Citizen Chen: a challenging test for bilateral diplomacy

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Barthélémy Michalon
Keyword(s):  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
High Level

Subject area Diplomatic and consular policies; legal aspects of international relations and Asia regional scenario. Study level/applicability Undergraduate. Case overview In April 2012, high-level officials from China and the USA were about to meet in Beijing in the framework of the bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue, organized on a yearly basis. The event was always delicate, due to the ambiguous relationship existing between the two countries, which were at the same time rivals and dependent on one another. That time, the tension previous to the meeting increased significantly: a Chinese human rights activist had just sought and obtained diplomatic protection in the US Embassy in Beijing, thus creating an embarrassing situation for both States' foreign departments […] How could they possibly solve this contentious issue without affecting their already sensitive relationship? Expected learning outcomes Analytical: to be aware of the political nature of the current Chinese Government; to realize the concrete and practical implications of an Embassy's special status; to balance two contradictory objectives, in a specific situation where none of them can be fully discarded; to contrast and try to combine long-term goals (in this case, to maintain a functioning relationship between two main world powers) with short-term objectives (in this case, how to deal with a Chinese activist that required protection against his own country's security forces); to find a modus vivendi (conciliation) between values and interests; to get convinced that certain kinds of negotiations cannot be conceived through a “win or lose” approach: in this case, the only way out must be respectful of the two parties' core interests; and to take into account that image preservation (“face-saving”) must be included within any country's objectives in any situation involving diplomatic means. Conceptual: the purpose is to familiarize the students with specific concepts, such as: best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA), which is to be mentioned as part of the discussion (it is not included in the case study itself); interdependence; (purported) Group of Two; asylum and refuge; Immunity; and sending state/receiving state. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.

scholarly journals Contribution of pandemic covid-19 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajar BADA ◽  
Mohamed LAHKIM ◽  
Ahmed BELMOUDEN ◽  
Nadia El Kadmiri
Keyword(s):  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
Annual Number ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

In order to respond to climate change, the Chinese government has committed to reduce the intensity of its national GHG emissions by 2020. In contrast to expectations, this year has seen an unexpected tragedy in the form of the corona virus epidemic. This virus, which belongs to the SARS-COV-2 family, has created a global turmoil and led to a record number of infections and deaths. In this situation, China took refuge as the first country to announce the appearance of the virus, resorted to quarantine in the absence of a vaccine against the virus, declared a state of emergency and then led to the shutdown of the Chinese economy. With the increase in the number of infections and deaths several study had analyzing the connection between economic growth and covid-19 or public health and covid-19, while this paper focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on air quality, specifically the concentration of GHGs in the air resulting from industrial activities by comparing GHGs emissions in 2020 and previous years on the one hand, on the other hand, by analyzing the difference between the annual number of deaths caused by pollution and those caused by the virus. This mini review highlights the effect of long-term exposure to pollutants and the high risk of infection by the virus, China is taken as a case study, which evaluates the impact of COVID-19 on the environment.

scholarly journals Urban Water Crises under Future Uncertainties: The Case of Institutional and Infrastructure Complexity in Khon Kaen, Thailand

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Friend ◽  
Pakamas Thinphanga
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
North East ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
Explicit Consideration ◽  
Climate Vulnerability ◽  
Uncertain Future

This paper uses the emerging crises in water management in North East Thailand as a case study to examine the effectiveness of existing institutional structures and processes to adapt to an uncertain future climate. We argue that it is through an analysis of the interface of actors, institutions and physical infrastructure that climate vulnerability can be better understood, and conversely, that climate resilience might be strengthened. This research has global significance as case studies of emerging water crises provide valuable insights into future vulnerabilities and the Thailand experience speaks to similar challenges across the global South. Our findings illustrate that water managers on the front line of dealing with climate variability are constrained by the interaction of infrastructure that was designed for different times and needs, and of institutional structures and processes that have emerged through the interplay of often competing organisational remits and agendas. Water management is further constrained by the ways in which information and knowledge are generated, shared, and then applied. Critically the research finds that there is no explicit consideration of climate change, but rather universally-held assumptions that patterns of water availability will continue as they have in the past. As a result, there is no long-term planning that could be termed adaptive, but rather, a responsive approach that moves from crisis to crisis between seasons and across years.

scholarly journals Identifying Forward and Backward Linkages From China's Infrastructure Investment in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Ehizuelen Michael Mitchell Omoruyi
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Advantage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Infrastructure Investment ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Infrastructure Projects ◽  
African Youth ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Backward Linkages ◽  
Backward And Forward Linkages

The continent of Africa must industrialize to eradicate poverty and create jobs for its 12 million African youth who join its workforce yearly. One of the major factors hindering industrialization has been the insufficient stock of productive infrastructure that would permit companies to thrive in industries with robust comparative advantage. Within the context of Africa-China cooperation, China has emerged as a key partner to several African nations, including financing as well as constructing large-scale infrastructure projects. With emphasis on the Tazara railway, Mombasa-Nairobi railway, and Ghana Bui hydropower dam, this paper employs backward and forward linkages theory to investigate what role these three Chinese-led infrastructure projects play in African infrastructure development and what the infrastructure investment leads to concerning creating new opportunities and businesses for Africa. The paper discovers that these three Chinese-led infrastructure projects have multiple gains and linkages for and beyond the three various projects areas. Above all, these three Chinese-led infrastructure projects were seen by the Chinese government to fulfil its goals in Africa.

scholarly journals Social Safety of Society for Developing Countries to Meet Sustainable Development Standards: Indicators, Level, Strategic Benchmarks (with Calculations Based on the Case Study of Ukraine)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 8953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yurii Kharazishvili ◽  
Aleksy Kwilinski ◽  
Olena Grishnova ◽  
Henryk Dzwigol
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Development Scenarios ◽  
Dynamic Weight ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
Weight Coefficients

The paper is devoted to identifying the level of social safety of society, taking into account the indicators of shadow economy, and developing its strategic scenarios as a component of sustainable development of Ukraine by 2030. The authors used the modern methods of normalisation, threshold vector determination, and dynamic weight coefficients in order to identify the level of social safety of society. The authors developed the structure and a list of indicators considering three components of social safety: The standard of living, the demographic component, and the quality of life. This method allows determining the list and severity of threats, comparing the dynamics of integral indices with integral thresholds in one scale, identifying the state of security, and defining strategic goals and strategies. The suggested approach is universal and can be used by any country, region, economic activity, or business to develop evidence-based medium-to-long-term sustainable development scenarios.

scholarly journals Implementation of municipal adaptation plans to climate changes: Case study of Poznań

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-334
Author(s):  
Eliza Kalbarczyk ◽  
Michalina Piegat
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
Optimal Adaptation

The adaptation of cities to climate change is becoming an increasingly pressing need. The choice of optimal adaptation solutions for cities is difficult as it requires an individual approach. One way of avoiding poor decisions is to use the experience of cities which have already implemented adaptation solutions. The aim of the work was to identify measures conducted as part of implementation of the municipal plan of adaptation to climate change for Poznań and to evaluate if the conducted measures complied with the adopted strategic goals specific for the research area. It was found that Poznań undertakes measures on each of the four specified strategic goals, but to a different degree. Hard measures and measures of the types: mitigation, physical infrastructure, and green infrastructure prevail. Most measures are performed in the sectors of transport and biodiversity. In addition, single cases of actions which have a negative impact on the natural environment have been identified.

Caregivers' Perceptions of Speech-Language Pathologist Talk About Child Language and Literacy Disorders

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2049-2067
Author(s):  
Karmen L. Porter ◽  
Janna B. Oetting ◽  
Loretta Pecchioni
Keyword(s):  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Therapy Goals ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Types Of Information

Purpose This study examined caregiver perceptions of their child's language and literacy disorder as influenced by communications with their speech-language pathologist. Method The participants were 12 caregivers of 10 school-aged children with language and literacy disorders. Employing qualitative methods, a collective case study approach was utilized in which the caregiver(s) of each child represented one case. The data came from semistructured interviews, codes emerged directly from the caregivers' responses during the interviews, and multiple coding passes using ATLAS.ti software were made until themes were evident. These themes were then further validated by conducting clinical file reviews and follow-up interviews with the caregivers. Results Caregivers' comments focused on the types of information received or not received, as well as the clarity of the information. This included information regarding their child's diagnosis, the long-term consequences of their child's disorder, and the connection between language and reading. Although caregivers were adept at describing their child's difficulties and therapy goals/objectives, their comments indicated that they struggled to understand their child's disorder in a way that was meaningful to them and their child. Conclusions The findings showed the value caregivers place on receiving clear and timely diagnostic information, as well as the complexity associated with caregivers' understanding of language and literacy disorders. The findings are discussed in terms of changes that could be made in clinical practice to better support children with language and literacy disorders and their families.

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