China Studies Review

Abstract

In our first section, we introduce three short pieces that examine important issues in U.S.-China investment relations, public opinion in China and Japan, and the Hong Kong pro-democracy move-ment. Benjamin Pollock examines the progression of negotiations between the United States and China in adopting a high-quality bilateral investment treaty. Cheng Zhang uses data from Genron to understand the reasons behind mutual dis-trust between China and Japan. Adrienne Dalton looks at the role of Hong Kong triads in the suppression of the 2014 Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrations. Our second section features six research articles covering a wide range of topics. Jakob Bund explores U.S.-China relations in cyberspace and provides an alternative framework by which the two countries can cooperate in the absence of trust. Patrick Lozada discusses China’s “creative indus-tries”, and the shortcomings of China’s creative special economic zones in foster-ing an innovation economy. David Rubin builds upon Bruce Gilley’s spectrum of democratic and authoritarian environ-mentalism and finds that in the context of environmental policymaking, China is transitioning towards more inclusivity and grassroots engagement. Peter Kim also examines China’s environmental policy and uses dust and sandstorms, also known as “yellow dust”, to examine the challenges and opportunities for environmental coop-eration in Northeast Asia. Shuxian Luo conducts a comparative analysis of China and India’s naval modernization efforts, noting that while China’s rapid economic development has spurred its naval modern-ization at a more rapid pace, there are other important elements such as differing threat perceptions and alliance options that help to explain India’s relative lag in naval mod-ernization. Finally, Winston Kung presents a Taiwan Straits crisis scenario analysis that examines the legal, diplomatic, strategic, and domestic opinion factors that would likely affect a U.S. response, concluding that U.S. diplomatic and military leverage would eventually lead China and Taiwan to de-escalate tensions in the region.