The New Realities of China-U.K. Relations

BRITAIN＇s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne concluded substantive economic agreements with China during his October visit to Beijing. They include giving London-based financial institu- tions the right to invest up to RMB 80 billion （US $13 billion） in Chinese securities. Chinese banks will also be permitted to set up wholesale banking branches, rather than just subsidiary companies, in London. This will enable them to tap their huge parent banks＇ financial standing to meet capitalization and reserve requirements. Owing to previous restrictions, Chinese banks had preferred to base their European operations in Luxembourg rather than London.     

The Rise of China＇s Global Companies

THE rise of individual Chinese companies to leadership positions in global competition is already well known. Lenovo is the world＇s largest PC producer. Haier is the world＇s largest household goods manufacturer. Huawei is the second largest producer of telecommunications equipment. Forbes magazine ranked ICBC as the world＇s overall number one company in 2013 by combined revenue, assets, profits and market capitalization.     

Key Issues in China’s Tax Reform

正TAX reform is one of the most widely discussed issues in China.In this respect,it is far from being unique!In the U.S.,disputes over health care payments and taxation of better-off citizens underlined last year’s government shutdown.The question of who will pay the tax increases that are inevitable in China as it begins to build more comprehensive health care and social security systems will be key not only to its economic development,but also to its     

Hard Bases of China’s Soft Power

THERE is currently much discussion in China about soft power, and I follow this discussion with great interest as a marketing professional and a lay observer. Here I would like to express my opinion in a professional sense. I was in charge of marketing and branding London for eight years, from 2000 to 2008. During that period the success of our work was recognized by international surveys that fre- quently ranked London as the world’s number one city.     

Structured to Survive

THE International Monetary Fund’s recent meeting in Tokyo focused on the continuing deterioration of the global economy. In the second quarter of 2012, G7 economies registered mere 0.1 percent growth on average, while EU output contracted.     

From Multiculturalism to Cultural Voluntarism: A Family‐based Approach

In the context of the current debate on multiculturalism, this article draws on three models of state policies towards families to propose a reframing of multiculturalist policies. They are the ‘authorisation’ model, wherein the state authorises families to define and enforce family obligations as law; the ‘delegation’ model, wherein the state prescribes the norms families are to follow and delegates to families the role of enforcing them; and the ‘purposive abstention’ model, wherein the state uses the voluntary performance family norms as a tool of policy, giving them limited legal recognition within the continued application of the general law. The article considers how these models might guide policy towards communities, which can be seen, substantially, as collections of families. It favours the ‘purposive abstention’ model, which, in the context of cultural groups, could be termed ‘cultural voluntarism’.