Illumination in Zhou-Zhuang

by Jasjit Bawa, 12 June 2009

Zhou-Zhuang was the destination for our last day in China. It took us two long hours to get there as the traffic in Shanghai was relentless on the Friday morning. However, upon arrival we soon forgot the agony of the never ending bus ride. Zhou-Zhuang is a well preserved Venetian style village that has transformed itself into a popular tourist destination. Located on the Yangtze River delta the village seemed frozen in time long ago. With a series of narrow canals flowing and its antique infrastructure one could easily mistake oneself to be in Venice or some other old European city.

However, my first impression of the village was, for lack of better words, disappointing. Despite its beauty, the village from the outset seemed manufactured and artificial. It seemed that everything had been placed there, including the houses and its residents, as an attempt to create an imaginary town that belonged in painting or a poem. But closer inspection of the area soon cleared any delusions that I may have had initially. This village has been there for centuries and has a rich and profound history. The residents in their attempt to better their livelihoods had to transform their village to attract the tourist. The village is filled with souvenir stores and many of these stores are located inside the houses of the residents.

Walking through the narrow streets packed with tourists I got an uneasy feeling that somehow I was contributing to the exploitation of this ancient culture. But to truly get a sense of the town we took a ride on the Chinese gondola. The boat took us around town where we got a glimpse of the lives of the locals. Residents washing their clothes, fishing, sitting on the bank playing cards were a common sight and they did not seem to mind our presence or the loud singing of our gondolier (to whom we had paid 20 Yuan to sing us four folk songs). Or perhaps, they had just gotten used to the traffic of tourists and accepted the fact that we were bringing their town extra income.

My feelings of the visit remain mixed. Several questions kept me occupied throughout my time there. Why do the residents of this town need tourists? Is the ancient culture being preserved forcefully? Is this another attempt by the state to create tourist city to showcase China’s rise in the world? Despite several attempts I was unable to get answers to these questions.

The residents of the village were reluctant to engage in any discussions of the political economic state of their town. Nonetheless, our stay was too short for me to spend my time examining the socio-political particularities of the town. Only this time, it was more than just an interaction between myself and the sights, sounds and culture of the town. It was more than just a personal experience on which I could later reflect. For the first time in so many days, it was about experiencing China with the nine people who were previously just classmates, but now had become my friends. It was about sharing perspective. It was about conversation. And perhaps most importantly, it was about realising that together, and only together, can we understand each other in a larger effort to establish frameworks for expanding capabilities to which societies have decided to give significance and not, conversely, to impose our own moral standards.

Images: Zhou-Zhuang village

Ricarda Hirsiger, 11 June 2009

The day started off with a bus ride through the Jinqiao Export Processing Zone in Shanghai, which was the first state-level economic and technical development zone approved by the State Council in 1990 and the first one officially named as an “export processing zone”. Since its beginning the zone has grown constantly and covers today a vast area of 27 square km.

Although I have read much about EPZ’s throughout the course of my education it was actually the first time that I have personally visited such a zone. Arriving at Jinqiao, I was impressed with the modern houses and apartment complexes, which probably accounted for some of the nicest neighbourhoods I have seen in Shanghai. While I expected massive factories with big chimneys in a rather desolate state, I was also impressed with the many modern office buildings from international companies such as Motorola, Siemens, Nestle, Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Sony, Kodak, Shanghai Sharp, Johnson and Johnson, LG, Toshiba and so forth.

After Jinqiao Export Processing Zone we visited the information centre for the Expo 2010. With the theme slogan “Better city - better life”, it will be held in Shanghai to foster innovative ideas on future life in urban environments. It is expected that 70 million guests will visit this expo that will host over 200 countries and international organisations, hence making it the biggest world expo in history! The preparations for this event are massive, both by China and the participating countries, and started as early as 2003. In order to host the international visitors, Shanghai even started to build new Metro lines that will bring the guests to the various expo sites. And so, it is almost a shame that it will only last for a few months. When we walked through the promotion office and watched the videos and saw the plans of this fun and exciting event, I think we all felt a bit jealous of next year’s MA Globalisation students who will be able to visit this event and travel the world in less than a day.

In the afternoon we visited the famous Red Town, one of the top creative industry parks in Shanghai. Located in and around a former steel factory and next to a sculpture park, Red Town is now an exciting space that brings together artists and designers from a wide range such as fashion, sculpture, or painting. It also holds office spaces, museums, galleries, a public arts library, several cosy coffee places and hip designer venues – as a matter of fact, it reminded me much of designer areas in other fashion hubs such as New York, London, Paris or Milan. The underlying idea behind Red Town is twofold. Firstly the space is meant to serve public welfare by providing an inspirational space for the general public and secondly to link artists with manufacturers to move from “made in China” to “created in China”. We met with an IDS alumni, Mr Gang Hong who is today a successful Chinese entrepreneur with international office locations. Meeting an alumni marked a highlight of the trip because he was not only able to share a lot of interesting facts about the Chinese society, culture and business environment or China’s development stage but also because it was inspiring to hear what path one could take after life at IDS.

Although, we visited three very distinct places I still feel that they had one central element in common: They all reflected that Shanghai has become an international metropolis that can easily keep up with other international hot spots around the globe.


Images: IDS students exploring Red Town and a sculpture from Red Town

Shanghai : China’s London or New York?

by Chu Xueqin, 9 June 2009

‘Shanghai is not a city of a developing country!’ After we have arrived Shanghai, the first impression from most students towards this city is this feeling and we start to talk about how developed this city is. Compared with the very hot and dry weather in Beijing, all the students feel a little calmer down in the rainy Shanghai.

This is a fascinating city. After a very fruitful trip to Beijing, everyone seems a bit tired even after one night of rest. However, when we see enormous skyscrapers here in Shanghai, some of us become excited and want to know more about this city. As we stay at the hotel located at the Pudong District, which has been newly developed within the last two decades, some of the buildings look very old and totally empty for having being demolished. On the other hand, when we are on the way to visit the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, the long queues of the traffic jams and a large amount number of ongoing constructions remind us that Shanghai is both a modernized city and still in the process of development even if it has already started to look more like other capital industrial cities.

The Shanghai Institute of International Studies (SIIS) is one of the top think-tanks in the world. It is a comprehensive research organization for studies of international politics, economics, security strategy and China's external relations. It is the first place we visited in Shanghai. The President of the SIIS is the brother of China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. After a short and warm welcome speech by Dr. Ye Qing, Executive Director of the Department of International Organization and International Law, SIIS, and a brief introduction about IDS by Jing Gu, we had presentations about China and Development.

The discussion after the presentation is a little bit different from the Universities we have been visiting. One of the main reasons is that SIIS is a think-tank. There are five fellows and some students from SIIS participating in our workshop. Most of them are very keen to discuss with us about China’s role and influence in international development. More in-depth discussions took place about China’s rising power and global governance. Also, a very interesting question is thrown out: whether China is ready to be a superpower in the global context?

We also visit the famous Lujiazui Financial and Trade zone to witness the indicators of Shanghai’s different stages development. Jing has explained to us that the long term strategy of the Chinese government is to make Shanghai a world financial centre like London or New York because China believes this can help to realize and sustain it as great power. Lujiazui is an important area for the Chinese government to start focusing on trade and financial transformations. The buildings around Lujiazui are in fantastically modern styles with skyscrapers and also the Oriental Pearl Tower is located here. All these buildings make us feel like we are standing in a city like New York or Tokyo. To sum up, for the first day we stayed in Shanghai, it has shocked us a lot by its modern architecture, fast-paced working style, and also inequality between those people living in the downtown and those in suburbs. What the Chinese need to do to alleviate these disparities is still a big challenge for them.

Images: IDS students with students and staff from the Shanghai Institute of International Studies (SIIS)

Challenges that International Aid Agencies face in China

by Kazuki Otsuka, 4 June 2009

On 4th of June we visited the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) China office, which is located within the embassy of Canada. Since two armed Chinese security policemen in uniform guarded the embassy and we all were asked to leave our passports and mobile phones at the entrance due to the security reasons, some of us became nervous. However, we were well-received by three CIDA officials. At the meeting, they explained about CIDA’s cooperation strategy to China and gave a brief summary of its programme in China. From a more practical perspective of view they also pointed out (frankly) some challenges which the CIDA China office has faced.

According to the explanation, the priority areas are 1) Human Rights, Democratic Development, and Good Governance, and 2) Environmental Sustainability. Generally speaking, the former is quite a sensitive issue to the Chinese government, and it can be said that it is extremely tough to measure the results of the cooperation and many international donors have been struggling with how they can approach this area in China. However, I was so impressed that CIDA has invested 95% of the budgetary resources to the area, focusing on topics which the Chinese government is specifically concerned with. For instance, the Chinese government has recognized the potential tension due to the lack of the social support system to the rural migrants to cities. Thus, CIDA has already supported increasing the awareness of laws related with the “Labour right” of the migrants, based on the “rights base approach”. It was convincing that since Canada itself has received a huge number of immigrants, and obtained expertise in how the social security net for the immigrants can be established, CIDA has cooperated in this topic.

In addition, the CIDA officials provided an explanation of CIDA’s challenges in China. One of them is the justification of CIDA’s presence in China, in their words, “demonstrating results for Canadian domestic audiences”. The point is that a large majority of Canadian tax-payers and politicians have assumed that since China has been relatively well developed, CIDA should allocate its financial resources from China to less developed nations. Although the CIDA China office has tried hard to persuade those domestic audiences to agree the continuous cooperation to China with a certain size, the amount of the CIDA’s budget to China has been dramatically decreased since 2007, i.e. it was 30 millions CAD in 2007, 20 millions CAD in 2008, and 14 millions CAD in 2009.

Personally I really sympathised with the situation of the CIDA China office. Because regarding the Japanese case, the government has decided to focus more on grant programme (mainly technical cooperation), and to stop a new ODA loan programme to China in 2007. The reason varies. Some say that since China ranked as the world’s largest holder of foreign currency reserves, the demand for capital has been lowering. The others, however, say since Japanese tax-payers and politicians have supposed that Japan’s ODA should be allocated not to relatively well developed nations such as China, but to less developed nations. Therefore, those who are related with Japan’s ODA to China also have met the same kind of challenges which CIDA has recently faced.

by Ayse Emanet, 3 June 2009

Today we attended to a meeting with the Japan international Cooperation Agency (JICA). Mr Kojiro Matsumoto who is the Deputy Resident Representative gave us a brief presentation about JICA. We got lots of information about JICA ‘s establishing aim, main assistance tools, and evaluation of their relations with China from 1972 (normalization of their relations) to today.

JICA has three main assistance tools: Technical Cooperation, ODA Loans, and Grant Aid. JICA’s assistance covers a large area; from Latin America, Middle East, Africa to Far East Asia. Mr Matsumoto was very welcome to our questions about their cooperation.

JICA’s cooperation in China began in 2008. Mr Matsumoto said that since 2008, the Japanese government has been implementing many organizational reforms related with their development assistance.

Although we have read many articles about the development actors around the world, attending a meeting with one of those involved and hearing what their role in the development field from them was very informative for all of us.

After meeting with JICA we met with Global Environmental Institute (GEI). Mr Douglas Whitehead, an officer from the institute gave us information about the Institute. There are four main programmes founding from the institute, which are Biodiversity conservation, Sustainable Rural Development, Energy and Climate change, and Environmental Governance. These programmes mainly focus on finding market models to environmental problems. And the main objective of the institute in China is also developing economically viable solutions to environmental problems by implementing market models.

Mr Douglas said that China being one of the fastest growing economies is creating huge environmental problems in the world. For this reason they are trying to solve these problems without decreasing the income of the native people. Mr Whitehead emphasized that when establishing a project protecting the economic conditions of the native people is very important for the institute.

It was nice to see how non-governmental organizations care about the environmental problems of our world. Moreover it was very important for us to see how seriously the institute feels responsible for creating new job opportunities for the local people while protecting the environment.

During the trip I mostly felt thankful to IDS for organising such a trip since we had many chances to make observation about the country and hear what both native and foreign people think about the Chinese rapid development story.

Images: IDS Students at JICA and GEI

New Hope for Sustainable Agriculture in Africa

by Ajala Olayinka, 2 June 2009

The UK Department for International Development (DFID) organized a reception for the IDS students currently on a study trip to China. Attendees included Adrian Davies, head of DFID north and East Asia, Prof. Monty Jones, Executive Director of forum for Agricultural research in Africa (2004 World food prize Laureate), David Dollar ( Country Director and Chief of mission, World bank), Prof. Richard Mkandawire (Head of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme, NEPAD), Dr Wu Zhong (Director General- International poverty reduction center in China), directors from the ministry of Agriculture China, the Ambassadors of Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, representatives from the Embassy of the United States of America as well as head of NGOs and top Chinese Scholars.

DFID, in conjunction with the British Government, the Chinese government as well as leaders of the Africa, are currently holding consultations in China on the need for agricultural development in Africa. The meetings, which started on Monday 1 June, will run for a week. Focusing on the decline in Agricultural productivity in Africa and suggesting ways to tackle the problems, the experts from Africa will be proposing new strategies to tackle the challenges faced by agriculture in Africa and hope to get the full support of the British and Chinese governments. The reception was really interesting and presented an opportunity for IDS students to learn from various development leaders and academic scholars.

Earlier in the day we were at Peking University where IDS students met with students and lecturers of the School of Government. Peking University is one of the best universities in China and the School of Government was created in 2001. Students from IDS and Peking University had a heated debate on approaches to development as well as on issues relating to China in Nigeria. After the session Prof. Song Lei, a leading scholar at the university, said he was delighted to have the IDS team around. He stated that it would have been better if it was a week long exchange programme and suggested that IDS and the University should work towards this. It was really a splendid time at the university as the students treated IDS students to a lunch and then took us round the university which is full of traditional Chinese architecture and indigenous designs.

The road networks are really amazing, all the buildings are really huge and beautifully constructed and I was told that most of them were constructed in the last five years; nobody can really predict how Beijing will look like in the next five years as there are still lots of structures under construction. Although the Chinese contractors and workers pay little attention to safety standards with no protective boots, helmet or reflector jackets worn, they are really determined to make Beijing the most beautiful place in the world.

With Lisa counting us every 10 minutes in order to make sure that none of us is lost or stolen and with every meal coming as buffet, it appears that we are in for a really memorable time in China.

Image: IDS students with staff and students from Peking University, IDS students with David Dollar, IDS students with students from Peking University

Unforgettable First Day

by Nobu Komoto, 1 June 2009

1st June 2009 became unforgettable for us, students in MA Globalization. This day was the first day of the first field trip in China for the first candidates for MA Globalization. Through this two-week trip, we are going to witness the dynamic and emerging power of this country and their great challenge for development. Interestingly this day clashed with the bankrupt of General Motors, the symbol of the USA’s mass-production industrialization. This gives us sense of how and where the transformation for next global order is being shaped.

This day will be very memorable for me personally. Last time I was in Beijing was1999, 10 years ago. At that time, I studied Chinese here for one year and I haven’t returned to China since. I still clearly remember how much I was surprised on the first day in 1999 by the very organized city with wide roads (the main road in Beijing had 10 lanes in one side) and a lot of Western companies’ advertisements. This time, to the same extent if not more, I was also very amazed at expanding of the city and the number of high-rise buildings. Not only the appearance of buildings amazed me but also the level of organized infrastructure gave me sense of how intensively this city has achieved development. In almost all the streets I visited today I couldn’t recognize it from the old appearance. This city has virtually changed into completely new city.

Let’s get back to what we did in the first day. The first destination is Tsinghua University, one of the most well-known universities in China and an Alma mater of the President Hu Jintao. The department that we visited is the School of Public Policy Management (SPPM). This school was established in 2000 and currently has around 50 faculties and 700 students including international students. They offer not only higher education for Chinese but three international programmes for students all over the world. In SPPM, we had a workshop on development studies, looking at issues such as the relationship between China and Africa that is becoming alarmingly important for both continents, the financial linearization and regulation in developing countries after the current global turbulence. In the workshop, we had six presentations, three from IDS and three from SPPM. We had very exciting presentations and active debates on each issue. In the closing speech, a coordinator of the workshop, Prof. Wu Yongping summarized that we had very simulating presentations and discussion and it will help to strengthen the relationship between our two organizations.

After the workshop, we had a lunch with participants from the workshop, joined by the delegation from Harvard Kennedy school of Government. During lunch we had very interactive and intellectual talks with students of both universities and this gave us great opportunity to touch various perspectives.

In the afternoon, we visited the Tsinghua science park (TusPark) that is minutes away from the campus. TusPark is a science cluster developed by the Chinese government and Beijing city since 1994 to create a competitive Research and Development cluster and foster entrepreneurship of the University. It covers an area of 69ha and currently has more than 500 enterprises and 25,000 employees, both are growing rapidly. This facility attracts huge investments from foreign companies such as Google, P&G, NEC and Sun Microsystems. This park is recognised as one of the most successful national science parks of which there are now around 50 in China.The secret of success is, according to TusPark Co. Ltd, the management company, the strong tie with Tsinghua University and the high-quality service the TusPark provides. TusPark provides great opportunities to be able to intellectually interact with the University and their graduates. It provides support to various resident enterprises such as circulating the information on government policies to promote of R&D (how to apply subsidies, tax deductions, etc.) as well as chance to receive investment from various venture capital funds. TusPark has its own fund, too. Therefore it acts as “a stage for gathering intelligence, a cradle for innovation and pioneering, and a rich soil for a dream to become true” to many ambitious entrepreneurs, through both of hard and soft infrastructures. From this visit, we could understand the importance of platforms for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship as one of the government’s roles.

As such, our first day of Chinese field trip ends up very stimulating and fruitful. Even only in the first day, we had enough feeling on the dynamism and energy of the city and people.

Images: East gate of Tsinghua University and main buildings of TusPark, both by Nobu Komoto