Chinese cities are getting bigger and are also growing into each other. To ensure that the rapidly increasing number of urban residents have access to adequate transportation not only requires increased investment in transportation, but also careful deliberation to allow an optimal tradeoff between different modes of transport as well as a coordinated approach to land development and transport development.

China is poised for a dramatic increase in its demand for natural gas. As total energy demand has risen to record levels in the last five years, China has found itself in an increasingly difficult bind: the social and environmental burden from coal is becoming too heavy to bear and a growing dependence on foreign oil is becoming strategically more risky with the passage of time. 

In the midst of growing tensions with China, Japan is deepening its strategic engagement in Southeast Asia. Preserving stability in the South China Sea, which is threatened by renewed frictions around contested territories, is a vital interest for sea lane-dependent Japan. Moreover, Tokyo considers Southeast Asian countries as crucial partners in balancing against an increasingly powerful and more assertive China.

As tensions persist between China and Japan in the East China Sea, it is interesting to note that one of the most symbolic actions of the previous crisis has yet to make an appearance this time around. 

For China, coal is a crucial source of abundant, indigenous and affordable energy and is a pillar of economic and social stability. From a logic of energy security, and because the industry itself maintains a formidable political presence through the sheer fact of its history and size, this resource will continue to play a central role in the country’s energy mix. But in order to respond to the growing need to reduce the burden of coal use on the environment and the Chinese population, and to prevent catastrophic climate change, both Chinese leaders and the industry itself have faced a certain reality - coal must become cleaner.

The main aim of this paper is to analyze the new opportunities for Taiwan’s ongoing economic development in the era following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China. 

The physical presence of China in Latin America is entering a phase of significant expansion, as the logical consequence of the rapid growth over the past decade of its trade, investment, and infrastructure for doing business in the region.