This article looks at how China conducts intergovernmental relations with the BRI countries. By e... more This article looks at how China conducts intergovernmental relations with the BRI countries. By examining the normative documents produced in the BRI cooperation as well as the rather informal BRI dialogue mechanisms, this article argues that China adopts a partnership-based, relational approach in ordering bilateral, regional and global economic cooperation. The Chinese approach may offer an alternative governance model in international relations but we have to wait and see what will eventually happen in the already very dynamic BRI process.
Although the formal structure of corporate governance in China bears some of the universal attrib... more Although the formal structure of corporate governance in China bears some of the universal attributes, such as separate legal personality of the company and limited liability of shareholders, in response to the typical agency problems, corporate governance in China possesses also several "Chinese characteristics" resulted from China's rather unique political and economic system. It is fair to say the governance practice of Chinese enterprises is an evolving process the direction of which has been shaped by many factors. This chapter not only outlines the general allocation of corporate powers among various governance and management institutions in a company – including the shareholders' meeting, the board of directors, the supervisory board, and the management, but also place the legal framework of corporate governance in China in its political, economical and social contexts.
International Political Economy: Trade Policy eJournal, 2018
This article examines the interactions of power politics and international economic law in the de... more This article examines the interactions of power politics and international economic law in the development of regionalism in Asia, particularly in the context of United States-China trade relations. It argues that the process of regional economic integration in Asia has been slow-moving because of the politicization of regionalism by power rivalries. China’s initial regional integration initiatives apparently ignored the United States, a superpower which has always been a major player in Asia and an indispensable part of the region’s economic process. The United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership was allegedly designed to exclude China, Asia’s largest economy. On the other hand, the Trans-Pacific Partnership also spurred the effects of competitive liberalization, pushing China to deepen its economic reform domestically and engage its trading partners on friendlier terms at regional and international levels. The demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership does not amount to the death o...
This Article provides an early assessment of the impact on corporate governance of the most recen... more This Article provides an early assessment of the impact on corporate governance of the most recent wave of SOE reform announced by the CCP in 2013, officially known as the mixed-ownership reform (MOR). It offers a comprehensive and detailed account of the background, policy and regulatory frameworks, and rationale of the MOR in light of the history of ownership reform in China. It also conducts empirical studies of the change in ownership and board composition in over 30 SOEs which have recently completed their MOR experiments, as well as, several case studies including China Unicom’s MOR. We observe that MOR’s impact on SOE corporate governance has been embodied in the “retreat of the state”, the “advance of the (Chinese Communist) Party”, and a limited yet emerging separation of power between the Party and the board in SOEs. On the rationale, we argue that the MOR programme is driven by three current beliefs of the Chinese Party-state on the future of SOEs in China. First, ownersh...
This paper studies the experiences of East Asian countries in conducting financial liberalization... more This paper studies the experiences of East Asian countries in conducting financial liberalization. Financial liberalization has two components, which are capital account liberalization and financial services liberalization. It is important to stress that the two components should not be confused, so are their respective consequences on a country's economic growth and financial stability. Both the theoretical and empirical studies have established that premature capital account liberalization was the direct cause of various financial crises, including the 1997-98 Asian Crisis. It is highly advisable that countries delay capital account liberalization or maintain capital controls before they put into place effective domestic regulatory framework and financial infrastructure. Based on the experiences of Malaysia and China in managing the Asian crisis, the paper argues that, in addition to having appropriately sequenced, gradualist reforms on capital account liberalization, a country should keep certain regulatory space for itself and maintain independently the financial policy-making power. However, financial services liberalization should not be retarded by these factors. An analysis of the four modes of GATT's services supplies suggests that trade in financial services does not necessarily involve massive capital flows and that financial services liberalization does not require abandonment of capital controls. Financial services liberalization improves the capabilities of a country's financial sector, enhances efficient capital reallocation, and brings tremendous benefits to consumers. Moreover, unlike capital account liberalization, trade liberalization in financial services will not contribute to financial instability and crises. The paper surveys the liberalization measures of financial services in selected Asian countries and concludes that more broad-based liberalization should be promoted. The paper argues that, however, it is understandable that a country wishes to provide certain protection to its domestic financial services sector at the initial stage of its development. After all, no country is born with a strong financial industry. However, the government providing protection should be wise enough to know at which point the protection should be terminated. In this regard, Singapore's experience of developing into a leading international financial center is an illustrating example.
China's stock market is the world's youngest one and the fastest-growing one as well. During the ... more China's stock market is the world's youngest one and the fastest-growing one as well. During the past decade, it has been developed with a variety of unique features, most of which are inconsistent with the concept of a viable market economy. China's dualist regulatory regime has different sets of rules for domestic participants and foreign investors. For a long period, foreign investment in the stock market was subject to severe restrictions and effectively excluded from all market activities except in the B shares market. Fundamental changes, however, have occurred following China's accession to the WTO, especially in the last two years. Now qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) are allowed participate in the market, as are foreign firms that wish to acquire Chinese enterprises including listed SOEs. This article, after introducing China's existing legal rules on foreign participation in the stock market, analyzes the major legal and corporate governance obstacles facing foreign investors. It concludes that, in order to achieve the ambition to make its stock market one of the most successful in the world and to meet its WTO obligations, China needs to substantially improve its regulatory and legal framework and adjust to different regulatory philosophies, including rethinking the role of foreign investors, redefining the role and functions of government with a view to providing institutions supporting the market, and creating real good corporate governance for listed companies. To achieve this, the key is to accelerate privatization, which has picked up speed in 2003. I. BACKGROUND: A SPINDLING STOCK MARKET AND THE DUALIST REGULATORY REGIME A. Evolution of the Chinese Stock Market and the Regulatory Regime Before the early 1950s China was once the home to one of Asia's largest stock markets. 13 During the 1940s Shanghai Securities Exchange was the largest stock exchange 13 According to a documentary book compiled by Mr. Liu Hongru, the first head of PRC's regulatory
Trade regionalism, through regional cooperation and integration and in the form of regional trade... more Trade regionalism, through regional cooperation and integration and in the form of regional trade agreements (R.T.As), is rising globally, although Asia has jumped on the bandwagon only recently. Asian economic integration is the "second-best" approach which Asian countries unfortunately have to follow. In the process of integration, China and India, given the size of their populations, as well as their central strategic position in international and regional relations, will inevitably play fundamentally important, and sometimes even dominating, roles. This paper argues that regional economic integration in Asia should first of all seek to achieve sub-regional integration in East Asia and South Asia, while linking up the two sub-regions with bilateral F.T.As, amongst which the most important one should be a China-India F.T.A. Eventually, all the F.T.As will be consolidated into one pan-Asian F.T.A. China and India must take the lead in promoting Asian economic integration. They are advised to lead the region in the practice of open regionalism (with whatever Asian identity) and conduct deeper integration. Lastly, it is suggested that Asian countries should, at this stage, establish an institution to develop (non-binding) common principles and guidelines for the sub-regional and bilateral F.T.As.
For a discussion of these ef orts, see Section C.3 , below. 11 h ese ordinances are discussed in ... more For a discussion of these ef orts, see Section C.3 , below. 11 h ese ordinances are discussed in Section C.1 , below. 12 h is conception of the colonization was of course raised by some at the time as moral justii cation for British rule, but there is no evidence that it was ever taken seriously by the colonial administration or the Crown, particularly as the original, primary purpose of Hong Kong was to import opium into China and provide a base to allow the military to ensure that the Chinese government could not stop such imports. See the discussion in Munn (2001: 34-7).
This paper examines China's recent movement in negotiating and signing regional trade agreements ... more This paper examines China's recent movement in negotiating and signing regional trade agreements (R.T.As) in the context of the regionalism versus multilateralism debate in international trade law, focusing on the China-Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the proposed China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The broader background consists of the potentially negative effects of regional trade arrangements like CAFTA, which may conflict with the economic goals of the multilateral trading system of the GATT/WTO regime. Countries, however, have a variety of non-economic considerations in approaching R.T.As, such as regional stability and national security. Furthermore, the literature suggests that although the economic benefits to members of R.T.As vary depending on the circumstances, at least they are apparent in some cases. This paper, after introducing the content and progress in the CEPA and CAFTA negotiations, discusses the geopolitical considerations behind China's R.T.A. approach. It also analyses the legal status and WTO-consistency of China's R.T.As. It concludes that while multilateralism still serves the long-term interest of trading nations for peace and prosperity, the multilateral trading system should accommodate regionalism in a fashion that strikes a balance between the economic and non-economic concerns of the various countries and the goal of broader liberalisation in global trade and investment. China, as a rising trade power with global influence, has the responsibility of promoting regional integration and global trade liberalisation in the interest of the aforesaid balance.
... between international markets and domestic markets thus played little or no role in determini... more ... between international markets and domestic markets thus played little or no role in determining ... yet fully embraced the key WTO principles of market access, non-discrimination, national treatment ... continued to use industrial policies that limit market access for non-Chinese origin ...
This article starts off by providing an overview of the historical and structural aspects of lega... more This article starts off by providing an overview of the historical and structural aspects of legal education in selected representative jurisdictions in Asia. It then proceeds to tackle what the authors feel to be the most serious challenges faced by Asian law schools today - the need to balance legal education and inter-disciplinary perspectives, to provide sufficient comparative material, to reform teaching and assessment methodology, and to juggle competing needs with very limited resources.
for their valuable comments, as well as, the editors of the Cornell International Journal for the... more for their valuable comments, as well as, the editors of the Cornell International Journal for their meticulous editing work. Special thanks are given to Professor Whitehead for his guidance on the public interest aspect of the Berle-Means thesis. Of course, all errors remain my own.
This article looks at how China conducts intergovernmental relations with the BRI countries. By e... more This article looks at how China conducts intergovernmental relations with the BRI countries. By examining the normative documents produced in the BRI cooperation as well as the rather informal BRI dialogue mechanisms, this article argues that China adopts a partnership-based, relational approach in ordering bilateral, regional and global economic cooperation. The Chinese approach may offer an alternative governance model in international relations but we have to wait and see what will eventually happen in the already very dynamic BRI process.
Although the formal structure of corporate governance in China bears some of the universal attrib... more Although the formal structure of corporate governance in China bears some of the universal attributes, such as separate legal personality of the company and limited liability of shareholders, in response to the typical agency problems, corporate governance in China possesses also several "Chinese characteristics" resulted from China's rather unique political and economic system. It is fair to say the governance practice of Chinese enterprises is an evolving process the direction of which has been shaped by many factors. This chapter not only outlines the general allocation of corporate powers among various governance and management institutions in a company – including the shareholders' meeting, the board of directors, the supervisory board, and the management, but also place the legal framework of corporate governance in China in its political, economical and social contexts.
International Political Economy: Trade Policy eJournal, 2018
This article examines the interactions of power politics and international economic law in the de... more This article examines the interactions of power politics and international economic law in the development of regionalism in Asia, particularly in the context of United States-China trade relations. It argues that the process of regional economic integration in Asia has been slow-moving because of the politicization of regionalism by power rivalries. China’s initial regional integration initiatives apparently ignored the United States, a superpower which has always been a major player in Asia and an indispensable part of the region’s economic process. The United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership was allegedly designed to exclude China, Asia’s largest economy. On the other hand, the Trans-Pacific Partnership also spurred the effects of competitive liberalization, pushing China to deepen its economic reform domestically and engage its trading partners on friendlier terms at regional and international levels. The demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership does not amount to the death o...
This Article provides an early assessment of the impact on corporate governance of the most recen... more This Article provides an early assessment of the impact on corporate governance of the most recent wave of SOE reform announced by the CCP in 2013, officially known as the mixed-ownership reform (MOR). It offers a comprehensive and detailed account of the background, policy and regulatory frameworks, and rationale of the MOR in light of the history of ownership reform in China. It also conducts empirical studies of the change in ownership and board composition in over 30 SOEs which have recently completed their MOR experiments, as well as, several case studies including China Unicom’s MOR. We observe that MOR’s impact on SOE corporate governance has been embodied in the “retreat of the state”, the “advance of the (Chinese Communist) Party”, and a limited yet emerging separation of power between the Party and the board in SOEs. On the rationale, we argue that the MOR programme is driven by three current beliefs of the Chinese Party-state on the future of SOEs in China. First, ownersh...
This paper studies the experiences of East Asian countries in conducting financial liberalization... more This paper studies the experiences of East Asian countries in conducting financial liberalization. Financial liberalization has two components, which are capital account liberalization and financial services liberalization. It is important to stress that the two components should not be confused, so are their respective consequences on a country's economic growth and financial stability. Both the theoretical and empirical studies have established that premature capital account liberalization was the direct cause of various financial crises, including the 1997-98 Asian Crisis. It is highly advisable that countries delay capital account liberalization or maintain capital controls before they put into place effective domestic regulatory framework and financial infrastructure. Based on the experiences of Malaysia and China in managing the Asian crisis, the paper argues that, in addition to having appropriately sequenced, gradualist reforms on capital account liberalization, a country should keep certain regulatory space for itself and maintain independently the financial policy-making power. However, financial services liberalization should not be retarded by these factors. An analysis of the four modes of GATT's services supplies suggests that trade in financial services does not necessarily involve massive capital flows and that financial services liberalization does not require abandonment of capital controls. Financial services liberalization improves the capabilities of a country's financial sector, enhances efficient capital reallocation, and brings tremendous benefits to consumers. Moreover, unlike capital account liberalization, trade liberalization in financial services will not contribute to financial instability and crises. The paper surveys the liberalization measures of financial services in selected Asian countries and concludes that more broad-based liberalization should be promoted. The paper argues that, however, it is understandable that a country wishes to provide certain protection to its domestic financial services sector at the initial stage of its development. After all, no country is born with a strong financial industry. However, the government providing protection should be wise enough to know at which point the protection should be terminated. In this regard, Singapore's experience of developing into a leading international financial center is an illustrating example.
China's stock market is the world's youngest one and the fastest-growing one as well. During the ... more China's stock market is the world's youngest one and the fastest-growing one as well. During the past decade, it has been developed with a variety of unique features, most of which are inconsistent with the concept of a viable market economy. China's dualist regulatory regime has different sets of rules for domestic participants and foreign investors. For a long period, foreign investment in the stock market was subject to severe restrictions and effectively excluded from all market activities except in the B shares market. Fundamental changes, however, have occurred following China's accession to the WTO, especially in the last two years. Now qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) are allowed participate in the market, as are foreign firms that wish to acquire Chinese enterprises including listed SOEs. This article, after introducing China's existing legal rules on foreign participation in the stock market, analyzes the major legal and corporate governance obstacles facing foreign investors. It concludes that, in order to achieve the ambition to make its stock market one of the most successful in the world and to meet its WTO obligations, China needs to substantially improve its regulatory and legal framework and adjust to different regulatory philosophies, including rethinking the role of foreign investors, redefining the role and functions of government with a view to providing institutions supporting the market, and creating real good corporate governance for listed companies. To achieve this, the key is to accelerate privatization, which has picked up speed in 2003. I. BACKGROUND: A SPINDLING STOCK MARKET AND THE DUALIST REGULATORY REGIME A. Evolution of the Chinese Stock Market and the Regulatory Regime Before the early 1950s China was once the home to one of Asia's largest stock markets. 13 During the 1940s Shanghai Securities Exchange was the largest stock exchange 13 According to a documentary book compiled by Mr. Liu Hongru, the first head of PRC's regulatory
Trade regionalism, through regional cooperation and integration and in the form of regional trade... more Trade regionalism, through regional cooperation and integration and in the form of regional trade agreements (R.T.As), is rising globally, although Asia has jumped on the bandwagon only recently. Asian economic integration is the "second-best" approach which Asian countries unfortunately have to follow. In the process of integration, China and India, given the size of their populations, as well as their central strategic position in international and regional relations, will inevitably play fundamentally important, and sometimes even dominating, roles. This paper argues that regional economic integration in Asia should first of all seek to achieve sub-regional integration in East Asia and South Asia, while linking up the two sub-regions with bilateral F.T.As, amongst which the most important one should be a China-India F.T.A. Eventually, all the F.T.As will be consolidated into one pan-Asian F.T.A. China and India must take the lead in promoting Asian economic integration. They are advised to lead the region in the practice of open regionalism (with whatever Asian identity) and conduct deeper integration. Lastly, it is suggested that Asian countries should, at this stage, establish an institution to develop (non-binding) common principles and guidelines for the sub-regional and bilateral F.T.As.
For a discussion of these ef orts, see Section C.3 , below. 11 h ese ordinances are discussed in ... more For a discussion of these ef orts, see Section C.3 , below. 11 h ese ordinances are discussed in Section C.1 , below. 12 h is conception of the colonization was of course raised by some at the time as moral justii cation for British rule, but there is no evidence that it was ever taken seriously by the colonial administration or the Crown, particularly as the original, primary purpose of Hong Kong was to import opium into China and provide a base to allow the military to ensure that the Chinese government could not stop such imports. See the discussion in Munn (2001: 34-7).
This paper examines China's recent movement in negotiating and signing regional trade agreements ... more This paper examines China's recent movement in negotiating and signing regional trade agreements (R.T.As) in the context of the regionalism versus multilateralism debate in international trade law, focusing on the China-Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the proposed China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The broader background consists of the potentially negative effects of regional trade arrangements like CAFTA, which may conflict with the economic goals of the multilateral trading system of the GATT/WTO regime. Countries, however, have a variety of non-economic considerations in approaching R.T.As, such as regional stability and national security. Furthermore, the literature suggests that although the economic benefits to members of R.T.As vary depending on the circumstances, at least they are apparent in some cases. This paper, after introducing the content and progress in the CEPA and CAFTA negotiations, discusses the geopolitical considerations behind China's R.T.A. approach. It also analyses the legal status and WTO-consistency of China's R.T.As. It concludes that while multilateralism still serves the long-term interest of trading nations for peace and prosperity, the multilateral trading system should accommodate regionalism in a fashion that strikes a balance between the economic and non-economic concerns of the various countries and the goal of broader liberalisation in global trade and investment. China, as a rising trade power with global influence, has the responsibility of promoting regional integration and global trade liberalisation in the interest of the aforesaid balance.
... between international markets and domestic markets thus played little or no role in determini... more ... between international markets and domestic markets thus played little or no role in determining ... yet fully embraced the key WTO principles of market access, non-discrimination, national treatment ... continued to use industrial policies that limit market access for non-Chinese origin ...
This article starts off by providing an overview of the historical and structural aspects of lega... more This article starts off by providing an overview of the historical and structural aspects of legal education in selected representative jurisdictions in Asia. It then proceeds to tackle what the authors feel to be the most serious challenges faced by Asian law schools today - the need to balance legal education and inter-disciplinary perspectives, to provide sufficient comparative material, to reform teaching and assessment methodology, and to juggle competing needs with very limited resources.
for their valuable comments, as well as, the editors of the Cornell International Journal for the... more for their valuable comments, as well as, the editors of the Cornell International Journal for their meticulous editing work. Special thanks are given to Professor Whitehead for his guidance on the public interest aspect of the Berle-Means thesis. Of course, all errors remain my own.
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