The recent announcement that investigators seized a metric ton of cash, jewels, antiques and other luxury goods from the villa of retired Gen. Xu Caihou sheds new light on corruption within China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Xu, who had been a vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), was the second senior PLA commander to be charged with corruption in recent years. In 2012, Gen. Gu Junshan, a deputy commander of the PLA General Logistics Department, was detained after years of rumors that he had been involved in under-the-table deals involving PLA-controlled land. Several active [...]
Since coming to power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has exhibited a more forceful and direct style of governance than his predecessor. That has included an unprecedented domestic anti-corruption campaign, a renewed push at corporate sector reform and a more strident posture in many aspects of foreign policy. Some foreign commentators have interpreted these moves as an attempt to recentralize political power and even re-establish the “cult of personality” around political leaders that prevailed in China for much of the 20th century. An alternative interpretation is that Xi’s government has acknowledged fundamental problems within the Chinese political economy and [...]
Earlier this month, China and South Korea reached a free trade agreement (FTA). In an email interview, Tony Nash, global vice president of Delta Economics, discussed the implications of the China-South Korea FTA. WPR: How comprehensive is the FTA with China compared to other high-profile FTAs South Korea has signed recently, and what explains any differences? Tony Nash: China and South Korea have studied and discussed this agreement for over a decade. The concept of the FTA is quite comprehensive, with more than 90 percent of goods covered as well as interesting modalities around online purchases and government procurement, which [...]
