In May 2013 the ASEAN+6 countries began to negotiate the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The objective of this paper is to analyze the feasibility of constructing such a region-wide agreement and to examine ways to multilateralize it. The paper first reviews free trade...

In this paper we examine the changing nature of Japans commercial policy over the last 25 years while reviewing Japans changing structure of trade, FDI and economy that underlay policy changes. We argue that until the late 1990s Japan adopted a two-track approach of relying on multilateral...

The paper examines the business strategy and behavior of multinational corporations (MNCs) from Japan, Asia, the US and Europe with a focus on Thailand, and with an emphasis on their relationship with local economies (firms) by using mainly the results from the questionnaire survey and...

In this paper we examine the changing nature of Japan’s commercial policy over the last 25 years while reviewing Japan’s changing structure of trade, FDI and economy that underlay policy changes. We argue that until the late 1990s Japan adopted a two-track approach of relying on...

In this paper we examine the changing nature of Japan’s commercial policy over the last 25 years while reviewing Japan’s changing structure of trade, FDI and economy that underlay policy changes. We argue that until the late 1990s Japan adopted a two-track approach of relying on...

A recent influx of Asian investment is changing the character of the Canadian oil and gas industry and reviving old debates on the regulation of foreign investment. Particular attention has been placed on investment by state-owned enterprises (SOEs), driven in part by public suspicion about...

The United States and China are at a turning point in their investment relationship. China’s previous investments in the US were predominantly in government securities, while other holdings were negligible. Recently, the accumulation of treasury securities has slowed and direct...

The dramatic rise of Chinese direct investment into the European Union has sparked a debate about the control that China may be seeking to take over European economies. Quite naturally these concerns have led to repeated calls that action be taken to slow down, if not to halt entirely, this...

Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and their overseas direct investment (ODI) have played an important role in China's economic development. But the rapid expansion of SOE-dominated ODI has also raised concerns, including about state capitalism and the need for competitive neutrality. This...

Foreign investment has played an important role in the Australian economy since the country's foundation. Part of the latest wave of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Australia has been by Chinese firms, and largely by state-owned enterprises with connections to the Chinese state. Despite the...