Since the beginning of reform in 1978, the Chinese import industry has expanded quickly in the wake of the rapidly growing merchandise trade. In 1978, the total value of Chinese import and export trade was USD 20.64 billion, up to 1.76069 trillion in 2006, an 84.3-fold increase. Imports alone...

For several decades, fast-growing East Asia has been the envy of the developing world. Not only has East Asia outperformed all other regions of the world, but it also recovered surprisingly swiftly from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the 2008-09 global financial crisis. Nevertheless,...