Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

The EU’s Trade Relations with China (1975-2008): A Linkage Power at Work? (Summary) The central aim of this thesis is to improve our understanding of the EU’s power, in particular in its external trade relations/negotiations. Our hypothesis is that the EU is a distinctive kind of linkage power, defined as an actor relying on linkage as a crucial modus operandi in its external relations. We explored how, to what extent and in which distinctive ways the EU is such a linkage power. Our analysis was based on three logically interrelated concepts – power resources, linkage and linkage power. Linkage refers to a leveraging strategy, with an aim of packaging relevant power resources, so as to increase leverage in bargaining, or more generally attain a policy objective. I identified seven types of linkages that the EU used: political-economic issue linkage, economic-economic issue linkage, conditionality, contextual linkage, linkage with a third party, cognitive linkage and synergistic linkage. Linkage can hardly work without proper power resources. The latter, as Dahl (1970) defined, refers to all the resources-opportunities, acts, objects etc – that an actor can exploit in order to affect the behaviour of another. So, linkage is a bridge between power resources and impacts – meaning affecting or changing the behaviour of another party. By putting linkage and power together, we created a new term – “linkage power”, referring to a power based on linkages. The EU, the US, China or any other power can all be such labelled, though these actors may diverge in power resources, linkage strategies and the variables affecting linkage effectiveness. When applying such an analytical framework to the EU, we gave particular attention to the implications of the EU’s sui generis nature on its linkage power. Our case study is the EU’s trade relations with China (1975-2008), which were punctuated by two critical historical junctures – the Tian’anmen Square Incident in 1989 and the EU-China Textile Crisis in 2005. In 1975, The EEC’s successful strategy by linking political issues (Europe-China balancing the Soviet Union and recognising China’s sovereignty over Taiwan) with economic issues (signing the EEC-China Trade Agreement) played a crucial role in securing the establishment of diplomatic relations between the EEC and China. Different types of linkages were then applied to the EEC’s negotiations with Beijing on the 1978 Trade Agreement and the 1979 textile agreement, which effectively prompted the Chinese side to agree to the EU’s terms. Immediately after the 1989 Tian’anmen Square Incident, the EC imposed economic sanctions with an aim of coercing China to accept Western world’s human rights conditions. This linkage did not last long or pay off due to divergent political and economic interests among the Member States and the EC’s institutional handicaps (foreign policy competence was largely in the hands of Member States, collective foreign policy action was non-binding), and soon de-linked. Having realised that confrontational approach did not work well, the EC/EU and its Member States started to change their China policies in 1993-95. The period of 1993-2004 witnessed the EC/EU’s power through partnership. The strategic partnership was seen as a complex of different pairs of issue linkages, ranging from political-strategic issues to economic and human rights issues. The partnership, once established, had fostered new linkages and consolidated old ones. China’s WTO accession was seen as a once-in-a-century opportunity for the EU to exercise linkage through conditionality, so as to extract market access concessions from the Chinese side. Moreover, by linking with China could the European Commission garnered international support for advancing the Galileo project within the Union and ward off some of the US pressure in 2003. The Year 2005 was singled out since an unprecedented trade row on textiles broke out, confronting the EU against China’s export prowess resulting from globalisation and China’s WTO accession. Linkages were used as a predominant strategy to help the EU to persuade and press the Chinese side firstly accept voluntary export restrictions and then share the burden of allowing the blocked textiles in European ports to be released. In 2006-08, the trade deficit problem emerged, coupled with a series political spats between Europe (France and Germany) and Beijing on the Tibet issue. As the EU-China honeymoon was over, the Commission toughened its approach towards China. Although linkage was again used to redress the trade deficit, its effects were not satisfactory, as the EU power resources were eroded. Our conclusions are (1) linkage is a crucial modus operandi in the EU’s internal bargain and its external relations with China; (2) Linkage was generally effective vis-à-vis China, but with variations, either over time or across different linkage types; (3) The EU is a sui generis linkage power, resulting from its institutional characteristics and heterogeneity of interests among the Commission and Member States. We find that the EU’s increased institutionalisation (both regional and bilateral) and competences generally facilitated its use of linkage strategies. The EU’s sui generis structure and its internal interest divergences have mixed implications on its linkage effectiveness. On one hand, the EU’s linkage power was weakened accordingly. But on the other, the Commission could tactically make use of some Member State government’s row with Beijing and advance its own economic agenda (such as the EU-China High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, HED). Moreover, our research also confirmed Andrew Moravcsik’s argument that issue linkage is more easily made within an issue-area than across issue-areas. But we differ from him on the reason behind that. We find that this was largely attributable to the EU’s pillar structure and competence divisions. The theoretical contributions include: (1) Linkage power provides a distinctive prism to look into the EU’s concrete strategies in internal bargains, and external commercial negotiations. Linkage serves as a crucial strategy for the EU to handle its relations with a far-abroad country like China, including establishing diplomatic relations, negotiating trade deals, forging strategic partnerships and holding high-level dialogue. (2) Giving some insights to the EU’s actorness. We find that the EU, though institutionally not a unitary actor, was somehow able to present its power to the extent like a sovereign state on some occasions using linkage strategies. (3) Contributing to the understanding of the EU’s means to spread its governance model. We find that the EU’s norm-setting goals have often been achieved through non-normative ways – such as interest exchange and trade-off, and other deliberate ways of persuasion and even coercion, mainly based on linkage. (4) Shedding light on the interactions between the Commission and the Member State governments and on the Commission’s autonomy in external trade relations. Two future directions of research have been identified: (1) comparative studies: the EU’s linkage practices vis-à-vis the US, Russia and middle powers, or other actors’ linkage strategies vis-à-vis China; (2) post-Lisbon linkage strategies used by the EU.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2005. / Bibliography: leaves 148-154.

published_or_final_version / Fine Arts / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

劉鳳霞. / "2012年8月". / "2012 nian 8 yue". / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-201). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in Chinese and English. / Liu Fengxia.

本文以早期中葡貿易瓷器為主要研究對象，具體時期為澳門開埠前期，即大約1553年至1600年之間。根據文獻記載，葡萄牙人於1514年首次到達中國，此後由於中葡關係一度交惡，未得官方許可的葡商遊走於中國海域的各個離島，與沿海商人暗中進行走私貿易。直到1553年（葡文獻記載為1557年），葡萄牙人佔據澳門，並逐漸將其發展成為葡萄牙對中及亞洲貿易的主要據點，中葡貿易的規模才迅速增長，並趨穩定，保持了隨後近一個世紀的繁盛。 / 澳門開埠，標誌著中葡貿易進入一個新的階段，這一變化亦清晰地反映在作為商品的瓷器之上，除數量的激增外，為了滿足歐洲市場的需要，一批具有全新風格及功能的外銷瓷器被生產出來，這類瓷器即是本文研究和討論的重點。以往由於實物資料的缺乏，以及對克拉克瓷研究的單一關注，學界對澳門開埠前期貿易瓷器面貌的認識長期不足。因此，本文將集中對此時期的貿易瓷器進行系統的整理和分析。 / 學界通常認為，十六、十七世紀之交流行的克拉克瓷器（Kraak Porcelain），是外銷青花瓷器專為歐洲市場創造的全新風格，然而筆者通過近年來對澳門及葡萄牙本土遺址出土瓷器材料的研究與考察，認為這種風格的創新，在澳門開埠不久（即十六世紀中期）已見端倪。因此，本文將選取葡萄牙內陸科英布拉市一處修道院遺址出土的中國瓷器，作為澳門開埠前期貿易瓷器的代表材料，與此前暢銷於東南亞及中東市場的中國瓷器、中葡貿易離島時期所交易的瓷器進行比對，由類型、紋樣及尺寸等方面入手，論證貿易瓷器品貌的巨大轉變發生在澳門開埠前期（1553-1600年）。並在此基礎上，結合文獻檔案及實物資料，進一步論證瓷器面貌發生轉變的原因，是對於歐洲市場審美與功能需要的契合，得出專供歐洲市場的中國外銷瓷產生於澳門開埠前期的結論，挑戰對於克拉克瓷器的傳統認知。 / 最後，本文對貿易瓷器生產的不同階段及其紋樣及類型的發展趨勢進行考證，與後期出現的克拉克瓷器進行比對，理解貿易瓷器的生產革新對於克拉克瓷的先導作用。研究結果亦可釐清十六世紀中後期外銷瓷器的類型與紋樣特徵，完善我們對明代瓷器風貌的認識。 / This thesis mainly focuses on the research of Sino-Portuguese trade porcelain during the early days of Macau’s colonization (between 1553 to 1600 AD). According to historical texts, the Portuguese first arrived in China in 1514 AD. However, because of poor diplomatic relations, the Portuguese resorted to smuggling along the Chinese coasts and neighbouring islands, since they were forbidden to trade near the mainland. It wasn’t until 1553 AD (1557 AD in Portuguese historical texts), the Portuguese occupied Macau and gradually developed it into a main stronghold of Sino-Portuguese maritime trade. Since then, the Sino-Portuguese trade rapidly grew and transitioned into a stable, prosperous business, which lasted almost a century. / Macau’s colonization signified a new stage in Sino-Portuguese trade, which was clearly reflected on porcelain goods. In addition to the increase of quantity, export porcelain with new styles and functions were produced to meet the European market’s demand. These products are the focus of this thesis. In the past, academic research on porcelain during the early period of Macau’s colonization was inadequate due to the lack of first-hand material and the sole focus of Kraak Porcelain. Therefore, this thesis will systematically analyze and categorize the export porcelain during this time period. / Academics generally believed that Kraak Porcelain between the 16th and 17th Centuries was a new trend for the European market. However, through the research and investigations of porcelains unearthed in Macau and Portuguese sites, the writer believes the trend already existed during the early period of Macau’s colonization (mid-16th Century). Therefore, this thesis will use the porcelains unearthed in a monastery site at Coimbra, Portugal as typical research materials, and compare them with the porcelains traded in the Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets, along with the early trade porcelains between Chinese and Portuguese merchants (before 1553). Thereby proving the transition and time period of the emergence of export porcelain through types, decoration and dimension. On this basis, combined with historical information and factual evidence, further discuss the change of export porcelain, and its correlation with the aesthetic and functional requirements of the European market. / Last but not least, this thesis will attempt to make the reader understand the transition and innovation of export porcelains may play a leading role to the development of Kraak Porcelain. This will be achieved through comparing the investigation of the different developmental stages of the types and decoration of export porcelains, with Kraak Porcelain, which appeared at a later time period. The research results can also clarify the characteristics of types and decorations of export porcelains during the mid and late 16th Century, which provides a holistic understanding of Ming Dynasty porcelain traits. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 王冠宇. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 254-270). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Wang Guanyu.

This study unearths the lost world of early-nineteenth-century Canton. Known today as Guangzhou, this Chinese city witnessed the economic dynamism of global commerce until the demise of the Canton System in 1842. Records of its commercial vitality and global interactions faded only because we have allowed our image of old Canton to be clouded by China's weakness beginning in the mid-1800s. By reviving this story of economic vibrancy, I restore the historical contingency at the juncture at which global commercial equilibrium unraveled with the collapse of the Canton system, and reshape our understanding of China's subsequent economic experience. I explore this story of the China trade that helped shape the modern world through the lens of a single prominent merchant house and its leading figure, Wu Bingjian, known to the West by his trading name of Houqua. I demonstrate that a large measure of Houqua's success stemmed from his ability to maintain an intricate balance between his commercial interests and those of his Western counterparts, all in an era of transnationalism before the imposition of the Western world order. The story of Houqua is at once local, regional, and global. Houqua’s business success certainly amplified the economic vitality in Canton. However, this analysis of his business success is less an examination of the Canton system than a study of the impact of an exceptional operator within this system who, through his personal business endeavors, set in motion changes that had ramifications for China’s development and the global system at large. His success in global business illustrates the construction of networks of trust for the purpose of facilitating economic exchange in the advent of an enforceable, unified international system of arbitration. The experience of his successors tells the story of the diverging economic fortunes of global traders operating formerly on equal footing. This is a story not only of an exceptional individual but also of the dynamic setting of transnational business when regional networks negotiated their connections in the emerging modern world. / History

The thesis tries to investigate which impact the new Silk Road announced 2013 by the Chinese president has on EU-China trade potentials. The so called OBOR initiative is an infrastructure project that aims to promote trade facilitation along the ancient Silk Road. The initiative includes more than 60 countries. The gravity model of trade will be applied to run a simulation exercise to estimate trade potentials from the EU to China and vice versa. The results suggest that China can increase its trade potential to the EU. Among the EU countries there are winners and losers. Those countries which participate in the initiative will benefit from an increased trade potential others will lose trade potential.

History of textile indsutry. Typization and systematization of textile industry. Lokalization of centers of textile industry. Comparation of european and asian textile centers. Characterization of chinnese textile industry. Trade relation between China and EU. Technology sharing between companies in EU, as as counteraction to growing imports from Asia. Model of development of textile industry for next decade.

This study investigates the effect of protectionist tariffs on firm performance, income tax payments, and shareholder payouts and investment. Using the US–China trade war and related Section 301 tariffs as a setting, I find that US firms impacted by these tariffs experience decreased firm performance while simultaneously increasing cash tax planning to presumably decrease their total cash burden to the government. I also find that impacted firms decrease shareholder payouts and acquisitions, but do not decrease other real investment activities that may negatively impact operating performance. Cross-sectional analyses confirm that these effects apply to domestic firms, do not appear to be driven by the retaliatory Chinese tariffs, and are more pronounced for those facing higher market competition or applying for exclusions from the protectionist tariffs.