This study seeks to lay the foundations for a better understanding of the Chinese middle classes. It goes beyond the traditional classification by revenue and identifies the distinctive features of China’s middle classes by taking into account relevant historical events, current sociopolitical and economic contexts, and key expectations of the population.

With over 500 million Internet users and 900 million mobile-phone subscribers by mid-2011, the Chinese Internet is an enormous market that has produced the spectacular rise of many Chinese Internet companies and attracted substantial foreign investment. This paper argues that, despite a great degree of liberalization of its market over the past 15 years, the Chinese Internet remains authoritarian in nature. Not only did the central government actively shape the infrastructure and rules of China's information superhighways, but recently it has also vigorously built state-controlled Internet companies, including a national search engine.

The fears of a rise in economic nationalism in China have been fueled by a number of recent moves, such as changes in the law on indigenous innovation or the enactment of a national security review (NSR) regulation for M&As by foreign enterprises. The objective of the current paper is twofold: First is to provide an update on the investment environment in China in order to determine whether or not these provisions reflect a move in the direction of more protectionism, and second is to suggest ways for European countries to level the playing field for their firms wishing to invest in China.

The decision of the Japanese Government to purchase a number of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands from their private owner sparked fury in Beijing. Such spikes of fever between China and Japan are not without precedent. However, the gravity of this latest episode raises the question of whether a point of no return has been reached in the Sino-Japanese relationship.

The question of the Chinese presence in Madagascar is very accurate. It is an opportunity for us to portray the sino-madagarscan relations.

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.

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.