The purpose of this essay is to explain China’s growing economic presence in Africa through a case study regarding the relationship with Kenya, as well as to highlight the specific features of this presence. In order to achieve this goal, two theoretical perspectives will be applied to examine the data. These two perspectives are the “world-systems theory” developed by Immanuel Wallerstein, and the theory of “Imperialism” as defined by Johan Galtung.     Through a textual analysis of the sources used, the essay has found that Chinese outward FDI finances projects in Africa that are commercially viable and mutually beneficial in economic terms. Research has also shown that Chinese outward FDI also attracts an alignment in voting patterns of African countries towards the Chinese in the UN General Assembly. Neither of these phenomena are consistent with the common misconception that China acts with imperialistic ambitions. Culturally, an influx of Chinese workers in Kenya have resulted in a heated debate concerning racial discord, as well as a change to working conditions within the affected African countries, defined as ‘’The Shanghai effect’’. According to the world-systems theory, the core state - in this case China, has an unequal relationship with Kenya, the peripheral state.    Our data suggests that China’s growing economic presence in Africa is not fueled by imperialistic ambitions. Therefore, we conclude that China utilises their position of being a core state with a long-term perspective - seeking and utilising mutual benefits where they can be found.

<p>Syftet med detta examensarbete är att ur ett Supply Chain Management perspektiv undersöka förutsättningar för att implementera ett tredjepartslogistikföretag från EU i ett växande industriområde i Kina. Detta examensarbete fokuserar på distriktet Xiaohe i staden Guiyang i provinsen Guizhou.</p><p>Logistikbranschen är en av de snabbast växande industrierna i Kina. Den kinesiska regeringen föreslår en främjande policy för en logistikexpandering som innefattar skattereduceringar och nedsatta priser på lokalhyra och markpriser för logistikföretag.<strong> </strong>Den största skillnaden mellan marknaden i EU och marknaden i Kina är de kulturella skillnaderna i sättet att göra affärer och att umgås. Korruption kan förekomma i Kina och det är värt att undersöka de kinesiska företagen innan ett samarbete inleds. Om ett samarbete inleds kan det vara fördel att ta reda på om det finns särskilda bestämmelser i Kina. Detta för att minska risken att problem uppstår med de varor som ska exporteras och/eller importeras. En vara som ska importeras eller exporteras mellan EU och Kina ska förtullas genom inlämning av tulldeklaration till Tullverket.</p><p>När det gäller växande industriområden som i Guiyang finns det geografiska fördelar med avseende på handel genom att staden angränsar ett flertal andra provinser och att den anses som en knutpunkt i sydvästra Kina. Huvudindustrier förknippade med staden innefattar kol, järn, stål, aluminium, gödningsmedel och tillverkning. De lokala kinesiska logistikföretagen saknar den erfarenhet och kompetens som krävs för att kunna erbjuda logistiska helhetslösningar åt företagen i industriparken i Xiaohe i Guiyang. Vidare finns inga tredjepartslogistikföretag i staden. Delvis på grund av dessa anledningar är det en stor fördel för ett tredjepartslogistikföretag från den Europeiska Unionen att etablera verksamhet i Guiyang. Svagheten med en etablering är bland annat indikation på brister i infrastrukturen och långt avstånd till närmaste hamn. Vidare finns det en planering för utveckling i regionen som innefattar bland annat utveckling av transportinfrastrukturen.</p> / <p>The purpose of this examination thesis is from a <em>Supply Chain Management perspective</em> to examine the conditions for establishing a third party logistics company from the European Union in a growing industrial area in China. The thesis focuses on Xiaohe district in Guiyang.</p><p>Logistics industry is one of the fastest growing industries in China. The Chinese Government is proposing a promotion policy for a logistics expansion that includes tax reductions and reduced prices on rent and land prices for logistics companies. The main difference between the European Union market and the market in China is the cultural differences in the way of doing business and to socialize. Corruption may occur in China and it is worth to examine Chinese firms before cooperation can be settled. If collaboration is carried out, it may be advantageous to find out if there are specific rules in China to reduce the risk that problems occurs with the goods to be exported and/or to be imported. A product to be imported or exported between the European Union and China must clear customs.</p><p>When it comes to growing industrial areas as in Guiyang there are geographical advantages with thought of trading, that the city is adjacent to several other provinces and that it is regarded as a tie point in southwestern China. The main industry involved in the city includes coal, iron, steel, aluminum, fertilizers and manufacturing. Local Chinese logistics companies have lack of the experience and skills that is needed for providing logistics solutions to companies in the industrial park in Xiaohe District in Guiyang. Furthermore, there are no third-party logistics providers in the city. Partly for this reason, it is a great advantage for a third party logistics provider from the European Union who wants to establish business in Guiyang. The weaknesses for establishing include lack of infrastructure and long distance to the closest seaport. Furthermore, there is a plan for development in the region which includes the development of transport infrastructure.</p>

China has had a remarkable development since the late 1970s, when the Chinese government started opening up its internal market for the outside world. The Chinese legislation and the legal system itself have been developing rapidly to adapt to the new economic environment, however not without complications. Many uncertainties still remain. Under the old income tax regime, corporations on the Chinese market were taxed under two different systems, one for domestic enterprises and one for foreign invested enterprises and foreign enterprises. With the new Corporate Income Tax Law, these two systems were merged and new concepts introduced. The new income tax law includes important articles that affect the transfer pricing regime in China. The OECD’s transfer pricing regulations have served as a model when China first started to regulate their transfer pricing, there are consequently similarities between the two. Multinational corporations consider the issue of transfer pricing as the most important issue in their international taxation. It is important both from the aspect of being the most effective way to maximize the world profit of the corporation and also in the aspect that an adjustment due to inaccuracies in the corporation’s transfer prices can be expensive. The Chinese transfer pricing system is considered to be young in comparison with other jurisdictions, for example the United States. The Chinese government and its tax authorities have in recent years put a lot of effort in improving the transfer pricing system and its execution. Due to the amount of loss in tax revenue that is believed to be due to transfer pricing measures, the issue is considered to be of outmost importance. The requirement on transfer pricing documentation has been an important issue for MNCs on the Chinese market, especially now when there is an interest levy on adjustments made through an audit. Since the current regulation on documentation is still quite vague, it constitutes an uncertainty for both taxpayers and tax authorities. However, an issuing of a clearer regulation on documentation requirements have long been anticipated but not yet released, although clarifying measures have been taken through the Corporate Income Tax Law and newly issued circulars during 2007.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att ur ett Supply Chain Management perspektiv undersöka förutsättningar för att implementera ett tredjepartslogistikföretag från EU i ett växande industriområde i Kina. Detta examensarbete fokuserar på distriktet Xiaohe i staden Guiyang i provinsen Guizhou. Logistikbranschen är en av de snabbast växande industrierna i Kina. Den kinesiska regeringen föreslår en främjande policy för en logistikexpandering som innefattar skattereduceringar och nedsatta priser på lokalhyra och markpriser för logistikföretag. Den största skillnaden mellan marknaden i EU och marknaden i Kina är de kulturella skillnaderna i sättet att göra affärer och att umgås. Korruption kan förekomma i Kina och det är värt att undersöka de kinesiska företagen innan ett samarbete inleds. Om ett samarbete inleds kan det vara fördel att ta reda på om det finns särskilda bestämmelser i Kina. Detta för att minska risken att problem uppstår med de varor som ska exporteras och/eller importeras. En vara som ska importeras eller exporteras mellan EU och Kina ska förtullas genom inlämning av tulldeklaration till Tullverket. När det gäller växande industriområden som i Guiyang finns det geografiska fördelar med avseende på handel genom att staden angränsar ett flertal andra provinser och att den anses som en knutpunkt i sydvästra Kina. Huvudindustrier förknippade med staden innefattar kol, järn, stål, aluminium, gödningsmedel och tillverkning. De lokala kinesiska logistikföretagen saknar den erfarenhet och kompetens som krävs för att kunna erbjuda logistiska helhetslösningar åt företagen i industriparken i Xiaohe i Guiyang. Vidare finns inga tredjepartslogistikföretag i staden. Delvis på grund av dessa anledningar är det en stor fördel för ett tredjepartslogistikföretag från den Europeiska Unionen att etablera verksamhet i Guiyang. Svagheten med en etablering är bland annat indikation på brister i infrastrukturen och långt avstånd till närmaste hamn. Vidare finns det en planering för utveckling i regionen som innefattar bland annat utveckling av transportinfrastrukturen. / The purpose of this examination thesis is from a Supply Chain Management perspective to examine the conditions for establishing a third party logistics company from the European Union in a growing industrial area in China. The thesis focuses on Xiaohe district in Guiyang. Logistics industry is one of the fastest growing industries in China. The Chinese Government is proposing a promotion policy for a logistics expansion that includes tax reductions and reduced prices on rent and land prices for logistics companies. The main difference between the European Union market and the market in China is the cultural differences in the way of doing business and to socialize. Corruption may occur in China and it is worth to examine Chinese firms before cooperation can be settled. If collaboration is carried out, it may be advantageous to find out if there are specific rules in China to reduce the risk that problems occurs with the goods to be exported and/or to be imported. A product to be imported or exported between the European Union and China must clear customs. When it comes to growing industrial areas as in Guiyang there are geographical advantages with thought of trading, that the city is adjacent to several other provinces and that it is regarded as a tie point in southwestern China. The main industry involved in the city includes coal, iron, steel, aluminum, fertilizers and manufacturing. Local Chinese logistics companies have lack of the experience and skills that is needed for providing logistics solutions to companies in the industrial park in Xiaohe District in Guiyang. Furthermore, there are no third-party logistics providers in the city. Partly for this reason, it is a great advantage for a third party logistics provider from the European Union who wants to establish business in Guiyang. The weaknesses for establishing include lack of infrastructure and long distance to the closest seaport. Furthermore, there is a plan for development in the region which includes the development of transport infrastructure.

Efter Kuwaitkriget 1991 har Kina påbörjat att modernisera sin försvarsmakt därinformationsteknologin fått en ökad betydelse. Informationsteknologin har medfört ett ökatkinesiskt intresse för informationsoperationer som ett sätt att angripa en motståndares system.Syftet med denna uppsats är att lägga en grund för fördjupad kunskap kring Kinas syn på ochförmåga till informationsoperationer och informationskrigföring, samt att inom dessaområden speciellt belysa CNO. Detta för att få en insikt i Kinas militära upprustning.Metoden som används för att analysera detta är att genom textanalys jämföra kinesisk ochamerikansk krigföringsförmåga inom informationsoperationer i allmänhet och CNO isynnerhet. Teoriansatsen för jämförelsen bygger på den svenska ”Pelarmodellen” somanalysverktyg för krigföringsförmågan.Resultatet visar på att det finns likheter mellan USA och Kina, men att det också finnsavgörande skillnader. Dessa består främst i Kinas integrering av civila och militära resurserdär milisförband utgör ett viktigt bidrag till armén, samt användandet av strategier som ettsätt att kompensera tekniska tillkortakommanden och jag har där funnit en avsaknad avdiskussion kring legala frågor kring nyttjandet av CNO på den kinesiska sidan. / After the Kuwait war in 1991 has China begun to modernize is defence force and where theinformation technology have got a more important role. The information technology hasbrought to consequence an increased Chinese interest for information operations as a methodto attack adversary systems.The purpose with this essay is to lay a foundation for a increased knowledge in Chinese viewsand capacity to information operations and information warfare, and within these areasespecially highlight CNO. The reason for that is to get an insight in the Chinese rearmament.The method used to analyse this is by text analyses compare Chinese and American fightingcapability in information operations in general and in CNO in particular. The theory base forthe comparison is build upon the Swedish ”Pelarmodellen” as the tool for the analyse of thefighting capacity.The result shows that there is similarities between USA and China, but there is also crucialdifferences. They consists mainly of Chinese integration between civil and military resourceswhere militia units constitute a important contribution to the army, and the use of strategies asa way to compensate technological inferiority in witch I discovered a lack of discussion onlegal aspects revolving the use of CNO on the Chinese part. / Avdelning: ALB - Slutet Mag 3 C-upps.Hylla: Upps. ChP T 04-06

Bakgrund: Samarbetet mellan svenska och kinesiska företag har ökat avsevärt i takt med att allt fler svenska företag etablerat sig på den kinesiska marknaden. Detta har lett till ett ökat affärssamarbete mellan de två parterna där nya relationer byggs upp och utvecklas för att få större marknadsandelar.   Problematiskt är dock att det finns tydliga kulturella skillnader mellan Kina och Sverige som medför att det finns många utmaningar som kan påverka affärsrelationen.   Syfte: Syftet är att utreda vilka utmaningar som kan förekomma i affärsrelationer mellan svenska och kinesiska företag samt vilka kulturella drag dessa grundar sig i.   Teori: Den teoretiska grunden utgår från teorier som redogör för kulturella skillnader mellan Sverige i Kina. Fokus ligger vid att få förståelse för de mest betydande kulturdragen inom ländernas affärskulturer för att på så sätt urskilja vilka utmaningar som kan förekomma. Vidare förklaras vilka egenskaper som är viktiga för affärsrelationer samt hur relationerna har förändrats över tid.   Metod: Det tillvägagångssätt som använts bygger en kvalitativ undersökning i form av djupgående semistrukturerade intervjuer. Dessa har genomförts med tre svenska affärsmän som har lång erfarenhet av att leva och arbeta i Kina. Materialet från intervjuerna har kompletterats med rapporter från Sveriges Exportrådet, vilket har bidragit med värdefull information om hur den ekonomiska situationen för svenska företag i Kina ser ut idag.   Resultat och slutsatser: Enligt studien har vi kunnat identifiera sju utmaningar vilka grundar sig i kulturella skillnader mellan Sverige och Kina. Dessa tyder på utmaningar gällande beslutsfattande, chefens roll samt en grundläggande skillnad i synen på pris och kvalitet. Vi har även sett att synen på begreppet relation skiljer sig mellan länderna vilket vi ser har stor påverkan på relationen. / Background: The collaboration between Swedish and Chinese companies has significantly grown as the number of Swedish companies establishing in China has increased. This has resulted in collaborations between companies where new relationships develop in aim to gain bigger market share. One obstacle is the difference in culture between Sweden and China that creates challenges in developing the relationship between the two parties.     Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges that may occur in the business relationship between Swedish and Chinese companies as well as the cultural characteristics that they are based on.   Theory: The theoretical framework proceeds from theories that describe the cultural differences between Sweden and China. The priority is to understand the most significant cultural characteristics within each country’s business culture to be able to distinguish the challenges that can occur. We will further explain the characteristics that are important to business relationships as well as how the relationships have changed over time.   Method: The empirical study is based on a qualitative method in the form of semi-structured interviews from three individuals with long experience of living and working in China. The material from these interviews has been complemented by reports from the Swedish Trade Council, which has provided valuable information about what the economic situation for Swedish companies in China looks like today.   Result and conclusion: According to this study we have identified seven challenges that are based on cultural differences between Sweden and China. These results refer to challenges in decision-making, the role of the manager and fundamental difference when it comes to price and quality. We have also noticed that the concept of relationships differs between the countries, which we believe have a big impact on the business relationship.

Som en följd utav den växande efterfrågan för importerade livsmedel i Kina, finns det idag ett par svenska livsmedelsföretag som exporterar svenska livsmedel till Kina. Den ständigt växande ekonomin i Kina har skapat nya konsumentbehov och öppnat nya möjligheter för utländska företag att sälja sina inhemska produkter till landet med en enormt växande marknad. Enligt en färsk amerikansk rapport har den ekonomiska tillväxten i Kina bidragit till en växande medelsklass som efterfrågar säkrare och naturligare kvalitets produkter. I rapporten framgår att med en växande medelklass i landet har människor blivit mer måna om att köpa utländska livsmedel. Detta pga. ett antal tidigare livsmedelsskandaler, som orsakat förödande konsekvenser för befolkningen. Det finns således en omättad marknad i Kina, vilket utländska och i det här fallet svenska livsmedelsföretag kan tillgodose. Enligt färska siffror från Svenska Ambassaden i Peking går Sverige enskilt miste om minst 1,3 miljarder SEK i livsmedelsexport till Kina varje år. Sveriges exportförlust har dessutom konstant ökat de senaste åren, och vi ämnar ta reda på hur detta går att ändra på och vilka möjligheter som finns för att åtgärda detta problem. I samband med ett projekt där fyra svenska livsmedelsföretag fått möjligheten att marknadsföra sina produkter mot en gigantisk kinesisk detaljhandelskedja och möta dess 500 inköpare, har vi valt att belysa deras ingång på marknaden. Kina är i nuläget en svår marknad att komma in på, vilket också bidragit till blandade erfarenheter för de fyra svenska företagen. Som syfte med vår uppsats ämnar vi identifiera marknadsföringsstrategier som kan hjälpa till att överbrygga eventuella kommunikationsbarriärer för svenska livsmedelsföretag i Kina. Vi har kommit fram till att det finns olika värdehöjare som svenska företag kan utnyttja, samt även saker att undvika för att underlätta ingång på kinesiska marknaden. Slutligen har vi även kommit fram till faktorer som krävs för att gå från kontakt till relation. / As a result of the growing demand for imported foods in China, today there are some Swedish food companies who are exporting food to China. The growing economy in China has created new consumer needs and thus the opportunity for foreign companies to sell their domestic product to the country. According an American report, the current economic growth in China has contributed to a growing middle class, which demands for safer and more natural quality products. Chinese people have, in connection to this, become more eager to buy foreign food. This is due to a number of previous food scares, which have caused huge consequences among the population. Thus, there is an unsaturated market for foreign food companies to cover in China, which could also be a motive for Swedish food companies to enter this market. According to recent figures from the Swedish Embassy in Beijing, Sweden loses more than 1.3 billion in food exports to China every year. In connection to a project where four Swedish food companies were given the opportunity to launch their products at a large Chinese retailer, we have chosen to highlight their market entry in China. China is currently a difficult market to penetrate, which has also contributed to mixed experiences of the four Swedish companies. In this paper, we intend to identify marketing strategies that can overcome any communication barriers that Swedish food companies might face in China. In this paper we have identified different values, which we believe that Swedish companies can exploit. Other things we have found during our research are communication barriers to avoid when entering the market. At last, we have also found some factors which are required when going from contact to relation in a business process.

<p>China has had a remarkable development since the late 1970s, when the Chinese government started opening up its internal market for the outside world. The Chinese legislation and the legal system itself have been developing rapidly to adapt to the new economic environment, however not without complications. Many uncertainties still remain.</p><p>Under the old income tax regime, corporations on the Chinese market were taxed under two different systems, one for domestic enterprises and one for foreign invested enterprises and foreign enterprises. With the new Corporate Income Tax Law, these two systems were merged and new concepts introduced. The new income tax law includes important articles that affect the transfer pricing regime in China. The OECD’s transfer pricing regulations have served as a model when China first started to regulate their transfer pricing, there are consequently similarities between the two.</p><p>Multinational corporations consider the issue of transfer pricing as the most important issue in their international taxation. It is important both from the aspect of being the most effective way to maximize the world profit of the corporation and also in the aspect that an adjustment due to inaccuracies in the corporation’s transfer prices can be expensive. The Chinese transfer pricing system is considered to be young in comparison with other jurisdictions, for example the United States. The Chinese government and its tax authorities have in recent years put a lot of effort in improving the transfer pricing system and its execution. Due to the amount of loss in tax revenue that is believed to be due to transfer pricing measures, the issue is considered to be of outmost importance.</p><p>The requirement on transfer pricing documentation has been an important issue for MNCs on the Chinese market, especially now when there is an interest levy on adjustments made through an audit. Since the current regulation on documentation is still quite vague, it constitutes an uncertainty for both taxpayers and tax authorities. However, an issuing of a clearer regulation on documentation requirements have long been anticipated but not yet released, although clarifying measures have been taken through the Corporate Income Tax Law and newly issued circulars during 2007.</p>

Disputats, Göteborgs universitet, 2008. / Med litteraturhenvisninger.

The overarching aim of the thesis is to present a framework that makes possible an understanding of bilateral relations that challenges mainstream International Relations (IR) approaches through a study of the “history issue” in Sino-Japanese relations. A secondary aim is to provide an alternative understanding of this issue. Discussions of the issue are often highly influenced by the objectivism, rationalism, state-centrism and agent-centrism common in mainstream IR theory. This has several consequences, primarily that the focus is chiefly on behaviour and that equal emphasis is rarely put on both contexts. In order to address these consequences, the question of what kinds of narrative, as expressed in museum exhibitions about war in both countries, can be found and which ones dominate is addressed using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The narratives, which contain the stories “we” tell about “our” past, are important components in and instantiate the abstract images that are identities, through which people make sense of the world. The context-sensitive analysis confirms the constructivist assumption that narratives matter by demonstrating that political actors strongly believe narratives shape people’s minds and act accordingly. It also shows that different narratives are present in both countries. It is suggested that the narratives are closely linked to domestic identity politics. Nonetheless, the depiction of self and other in these has consequences for bilateral relations. This has several implications, for example, that changes in the behaviour of leaders, while they may have a positive impact on relations, are insufficient as solutions to the problems. This has consequences for approaches preoccupied with behaviour. The study contributes to constructivist IR through a close textual analysis of narrative structure that illustrates the significance of labelling and categorizing in identity construction that is easily missed by less fine-grained analyses.