Globalization and Economic Groupings: Lessons Learned
Despite globalization, regional and bilateral economic cooperation trends continue to spread – accords are repeatedly formed to facilitate trade and investment potentials. How relevant are these initiatives compared to WTO and global trade efforts? Are they overlapping, complementary or conflicting? How do they impact existing trade blocs such as ASEAN etc.? Where will the trend of globalization and groupings take us? What role can China play in the promoting economic blocs?

New Step in Asia: The Evolution of Regional Trade Blocs
The economic structure in Asia has been transforming rapidly over the years. With China’s continue economic success; she is no doubt developing into an economic superpower. What considerations should be taken over formation of economic cooperation in Asia? What structure and method of cooperation is most suitable? How does bilateral and multilateral cooperation affect Asia as a region? What role and influence do entities such as ASEAN and key economies such as China, Japan, Korea and India play over regional economic trade blocs? How will China be perceived being the key driver of the region and what would be expected of China?

Coastal Riches to Interior Niches: the Vital Role of Collaboration between Regions of China
The world’s fastest growing economy is still burdened by uneven distribution of wealth. The economic collaboration concentrated in the coastal metropolis, Pearl River Delta, Yangtze Delta and Bo-hai region over the years has seen significant successes nevertheless wide gaps still exist and are increasingly a concern to China’s government.

What measures are being taken to promote a better and wider penetration of these economic programs to the much-neglected interior areas? How to effectively extend the already successful schemes to benefit the interior regions? What administrative complications are the government likely to face and how may these be resolve? What are the obstructions and contradictions different regions hold that may hinder the administration’s drive? What impacts will the domestically driven regional economic programs have over the region’s economy? What other systems that can be adopted to facilitate a steady, healthy and balanced distribution of wealth?

Peaceful Rise: Strategy and Approach
As a start towards achieving economic globalization China has adopted the route of successful accession to WTO. With the trend of regional economic groupings, China has yet to find a suitable strategy for its role. What strategy China adopts will depend on the role it aspires to play and finding a balance of focus between domestic and regional economic reform. What impact have the regional economic cooperation pacts had over the long-term strategy of China? What role should China take in multilateral and bilateral economic cooperation in Asia and the world? How would they affect China’s status in the WTO?

The Principal Driver for Further Development: Government vs. Private Enterprises
In addition to government’s initiatives in the formation of regional economic cooperation, private enterprises play a significant role in designing the parameters of cooperation. How can a true and effective alliance between governments and private sector be fostered so that agreements are reflective of private enterprises’ needs?

Government Transformation and the Role of NGOs
The call for political system reform is gradually becoming an important agenda and within the process is the need to review the role of Think Tank and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in China. How do various Thank-Tanks and NGOs affect a society? Are there any lessons China can absorb from other countries? What are the objectives of government reform? What are the challenges that a government-oriented country such as China likely to experience and what measures should be taken to achieve its objectives?

China’s Financial Market: Outlook and Development
China’s top official has planned diligent economic reform to cool down its fast growing economy by enforcing credit and investment control and tightening regulations on land and further industrial investment. But how would the slow-down of China economy affect Asia and the rest of the world? The financial market will inevitably undergo reform – what changes will it bring to state-owned commercial banks? How is the role of debt securities and equity markets evolving? How do the offshore RMB transactions in Hong Kong affect the banking reform? How should interest rate be controlled? What is the outlook for securities, funds and the insurance industry?

Driving Engine for Regional Integration: Automobile Manufacturing Industry
There is an intensifying competition in China’s automotive industry. The decades of impressive double digit annual growth are experiencing a deviation. A slight downward trend in sales in recent months has prompted new speculation: Has China’s automotive industry reached a saturation point? Some believe that there’s still huge potential for luxury cars; some urge policy makers to curb the overcapacity to curtail price wars. Predictions are that the car industry will go through radical reform but where are the safely valves? Intensive consolidation? Credit control? Tighter investment policy? One solution to which both foreign investors and top China policy makers aspire is to make cars for export. With this, China car manufacturers need to upgrade their technology, raise the level of production quality and perhaps develop their own brand. What are the potentials and prospects of China auto industry?

The New Era of Real Estate Development in China: Building for Tomorrow
The worlds fastest ever recorded, China’s real estate development has maintained a continuous growth of 20% over years. The age of ‘aggressive acquisition’ is at this juncture and potential is undeniably huge. However, experts cautiously warn against overheating of the property sector and officials have started to tightened bank credit and land use. Town planning and architectural expertise are being brought to bear on the problem in order to ensure environmental viability and best possible land use for the greatest number of people. The changing face of the industry is bringing new opportunities and risks. What measures are needed to stabilize the real estate sector?