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Based on extensive primary research The Chinese and Hong Kong denim industry is the first title of its kind that contains a systematic description and analysis of the denim textile and clothing industry in mainland China and Hong Kong. The authors describe the industry systematically, from yarn, fabric and garment production to distribution channels with a detailed analysis of the industry's competitiveness. The impact of the World Trade Organisation on the industry is also covered along with a comparative study of the textile clothing industries in the top ten exporting countries and regions in world trade. The Chinese and Hong Kong denim industry is invaluable to companies and individuals interested in the Chinese textile and clothing industry and markets. Universities and students specialising in textiles and clothing, marketing and management will also find this title of use, along with market development managers and market and industry analysts. Contains a systematic description and analysis of the denim textile and clothing industry in mainland China and Hong KongProvides unparalleled detail on every aspect of denim production and apparel, including manufacturing, distribution, competitive analysis and industry strategyDiscusses the impact of the World Trade Organisation on the industry and provides a comparative study of the textile clothing industries in the top ten exporting countries and regions

In an increasingly interconnected world, one country's ability to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is affected by positive or negative spillovers from other countries. Yet, little research has considered these spillovers in monitoring SDG progress. Ignoring these effects may result in achieving one country's SDGs at the cost of the other or miss positive synergies. To fill the gap, we integrated a global supply-chain database with several international flow datasets, and quantified the impacts of multiple social and environmental spillovers on all the 17 SDGs for 189 countries. Our analysis shows that, globally, international activities (e.g., trade) could help improve the national SDG Index by 20.2%. At the country level, 91% of the countries (accounting for 94% world population) improved their SDG Index through international interactions. Despite the overall benefit, we found that, among the 17 SDGs, 15 benefited from international interactions while two were negatively impacted, and both deal with the dimension of social fairness. Besides, we found higher-income countries generally benefited more, while lower-income countries benefited less and occasionally disadvantaged from the spillover impacts. Further analysis found that the negative spillovers were dominantly generated by a few powerful and developed countries, such as the United States, Germany, Japan, Italy, and China, while the impacted countries are mostly less-developed. Furthermore, we found the spillover impacts more frequently occurred between faraway countries with unequal economic levels, which indicates distant interactions lead to more socio-environmental inequality among countries in terms of achieving SDGs. The study provides a quantitative understanding of the often-ignored spillover effects on achieving sustainability, therefore, inform (inter)governmental agencies to target the negative spillovers and empower disadvantaged countries to better achieve SDGs globally.

In an increasingly interconnected world, one country's ability to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is affected by positive or negative spillovers from other countries. Yet, little research has considered these spillovers in monitoring SDG progress. Ignoring these effects may result in achieving one country's SDGs at the cost of the other or miss positive synergies. To fill the gap, we integrated a global supply-chain database with several international flow datasets, and quantified the impacts of multiple social and environmental spillovers on all the 17 SDGs for 189 countries. Our analysis shows that, globally, international activities (e.g., trade) could help improve the national SDG Index by 20.2%. At the country level, 91% of the countries (accounting for 94% world population) improved their SDG Index through international interactions. Despite the overall benefit, we found that, among the 17 SDGs, 15 benefited from international interactions while two were negatively impacted, and both deal with the dimension of social fairness. Besides, we found higher-income countries generally benefited more, while lower-income countries benefited less and occasionally disadvantaged from the spillover impacts. Further analysis found that the negative spillovers were dominantly generated by a few powerful and developed countries, such as the United States, Germany, Japan, Italy, and China, while the impacted countries are mostly less-developed. Furthermore, we found the spillover impacts more frequently occurred between faraway countries with unequal economic levels, which indicates distant interactions lead to more socio-environmental inequality among countries in terms of achieving SDGs. The study provides a quantitative understanding of the often-ignored spillover effects on achieving sustainability, therefore, inform (inter)governmental agencies to target the negative spillovers and empower disadvantaged countries to better achieve SDGs globally.

Reporting a case study of two high-achieving Chinese students studying at a university in Hong Kong, this paper presents evidence that poses an anti-thesis to the stereotypes of first year university students as holding naïve beliefs about learning and of 'Chinese learners' as lacking in critical thinking. Many studies have examined Chinese students' learning experiences within local educational contexts, yet we know very little what beliefs individual Chinese ESL students hold about learning and writing in an English-dominant university especially in their early stage of studying at such an institution, and how their beliefs are reflected in what they actually do in their writing. This paper aims to illuminate a connection between two high-achieving Chinese students' beliefs about learning/writing in the university and what they did in a written assignment in an introductory course of political science, especially in terms of their use of authorship strategies as they wrote from sources. The data were collected through interviews and gathering the students' notes, process logs, papers, source texts, as well as the relevant materials of the political science course. The study revealed that for both students the essence of university learning and writing consisted in independent and critical thinking, and writing with a clear view and sound logic; and they both imprinted authorship into their papers, by proposing revised theories on their selected topics and fitting sources into their own organizational frameworks. ; published_or_final_version

As a sustainable development approach, community tourism can be implemented in a modernized civil society when individuals confront the opportunities and responsibilities of citizenship. China seems to present a series of problems to community tourism. It is in the midst of 'modernising' its norms and values, but has no civil society to counterbalance the power of the state. It enjoys the benefits of a growing economy, but is far from being regulated by the invisible hand of the market. There is intense social opposition, but there are no social movements that might lead towards building a democratic system crucial to implementing community tourism. This paper presents a case study of Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone in Sanya, Hainan Province, China, in order to explore the applicability of community tourism. The findings indicate that tremendous barriers exist to such a democratic approach in the development of the Zone despite glimmers of hope. The paper concludes that various preconditions must be established for implementing community tourism in the specific situation of the Zone. The paper also contributes to the much needed discussion of community tourism in developing countries. © 2004 Y. Li. ; published_or_final_version

The PRC Law-making Law was promulgated to solve problems plaguing the Chinese legislative system, such as conflicts between laws, violation of legislative powers and procedures, and poor legislative quality. However, its role may be more symbolic than practical. Among the achievements of this new legislation, the division of legislative powers is most impressive. It signifies the institutionalization of China's legislative system and incorporation of federalist elements into the Chinese state system. On the other hand, the law itself contains serious problems, eg insufficient guarantees for local legislative powers, lack of an independent legislative supervision system, and omission of any powers for the courts to interpret laws. These problems render the prospects for using the law to solve legislative problems rather slim. It may, nevertheless, lay the foundation for future legislative reform in China. ; published_or_final_version

Rural migrants have suffered from serious social exclusion in the Chinese urban society. However, since the early 2000s, the Chinese government emphasizes social harmony as an important national development goal. Together with the reorientation of development goals, the livelihood of rural migrants has received unprecedented State attention. This paper studies the policy changes and examines whether they have enhanced urban social harmony, particularly, in improving the welfare of rural migrants. It was found that the policy changes only partially restored the social and political rights of rural migrants. Some rural migrants have resorted to extreme actions, such as suicides, crimes, and strikes, to express their grievances, thereby contradicting government attempts to ensure social harmony. Further efforts are required to enhance the social inclusion of rural migrants in urban China. ; published_or_final_version

China is one of the most active states in concluding bilateral investment treaties (BITs) globally. Its BITs can be categorized into three generations based on the homogeneity of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions within each generation. The China–EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and the China–US BIT under negotiation are expected to inaugurate a fourth generation, although China's stance on ISDS in both treaties remains indeterminate. This article elaborates on the distinctive characteristics of ISDS provisions by mapping three generations of Chinese BITs, presenting the challenges that these ISDS provisions have brought to light in investor-state adjudication as well as in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, and expounding on China's policy options in ISDS reform. The on-going intense debate on ISDS reform presents China with an opportunity to shift from its traditional role of a rule-taker to a rule-maker in redesigning the ISDS mechanism. However, China's current policy and practice do not demonstrate an ambition for such a transformation. Looking forward, it may well be in China's long-term interest to endorse a Multilateral Investment Court as vigorously advocated by the EU.

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Subsidizing energy has been widely used but is economically unfavorable. The Malaysian government has shown strong intention to reduce energy subsidies recently, but face challenges to prepare policy instruments to manage the impact. This study develops a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model with breakdown of households by income level to evaluate the potential impacts of removing energy subsidies on the Malaysian economy. It is shown that removing petroleum and gas subsidy would improve economic efficiency and increase GDP up to 0.65%. Budget deficit would be largely reduced after removing the petroleum subsidies, especially when the saved subsidy cost is not budgeted for other expenditure. Households would be worse off in most scenarios due to higher price level, but some compensation policy could make the lowest income group no worse than baseline, without harm the economy. The reduction in carbon emissions ranges 1.84–6.63% in different scenarios. The simulation results suggest Malaysia to completely remove all fuel subsidies and use the saved funding to cut budget deficit or spend on education, health and other service sector. It is also necessary to set a compensation scheme to minimize public resistance and make sure such scheme is affordable.