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What is limiting Australian vendors transferring environmental goods and services into China?
Abstract
A survey was conducted to assess non-trade barriers and their practical impact on the transfer of environmental technologies and goods and services to China, focusing on Australian vendors. The highest priority barriers, which are most likely to limit Australian vendors of environmental goods and services in their technology transfers to China, were protection of intellectual property, limitations of the rule of law, fragmentation and bureaucracy of the Chinese government; and establishing appropriate level of ownership (of these vendors). Examples of Australian experiences that confirmed these barriers to providing the needed technology and innovation to manage China's increasing environmental impacts were also examined. These barriers are discussed in relation to a pending free trade agreement between Australia and China. The perceived impacts of such a free trade agreement on corporate environmental managers and environmental consultants are also discussed. The barriers identified do not appear to be unique to transfer of environmental goods and services, but generic to the transfer and adoption of Australian technology into China.
... Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies have been adapted to estimate the impacts of FTAs. In quantitative groups, ANOVA, fixed effects, GGT, and Gravity models are sometimes modified and then applied to the estimation (Guerin, 2007;Hoa, 2008;Joshi, 2012;Sen, Srivastava, & Pacheco, 2013;Sheng & Song, 2008). Besides, some researchers also use surveys and/or questionnaires to complement modeling simulations and projections. ...
After 21 rounds of intense negotiations over nearly a decade, the deal of China-Australia Free Trade Agreement was finally completed in late November 2014. This paper attempts to examine both the causes and consequences of this delayed conclusion by running simulation experiments on a computable general equilibrium model, to see how the free trade agreement affects the world economy not only on the two countries involved, but also on the rest of the world with a particular reference to New Zealand. Based on the simulation results, policy implications are generated.
Daniel Vasella explains why his company is placing a big bet on China's future as a world scientific power.
Chinese firms and research institutions have capabilities in relevant energy technologies, but there is still a significant gap between their means and the international standards. China's investments in new factories, offices, and other infrastructure have driven the growth of the annual gross domestic product (GDP), and the implications for global supplies of raw materials are considerable. However, one of the most pressing problems in China is the increasing frequency of power shortages, due to which, power companies are struggling to build enough generation and transmission capacity to meet soaring demand. Although its share of national energy consumption has fallen in recent years, coal is expected to continue as China's largest source of energy. The majority of energy technology transfer to China has focused on reducing the environmental impacts of coal use, known as cleaner technologies. The largest of these efforts is the Japanese government's 1992 Green Aid Plan (GAP), which includes cleaner coal demonstration projects in many Asian countries, including China. As an example of technology transfer effort, a World Bank project aims to subsidize the acquisition of licenses for new boiling technologies by Chinese firms to improve the efficiency of industrial boilers.
There are numerous reasons why land users do not always adopt innovations even though all evidence may suggest that they should. The purpose of this study was to review the literature in the field of extension and technology transfer drawing upon the rural sector primarily in Australia. Australia is now recognized as a world leader in adopting new technology and ideas, particularly those relating to the management of the physical environment but there has been little assessment of the circumstances and constraints surrounding this adoption. The reasons for non-adoption range from complexity of the technology, land user's beliefs and opinions towards the innovation, attitude to risk and conflicting information. For different land-use enterprises and innovations, different constraints will apply and it is argued that these are in three broad categories, characterized by: the land user and the adoption process; the characteristics of, and issues associated with the developers of, the innovation; and the role of extension agents and the transfer process. It is apparent from the changing nature of technology transfer that commercial organizations have assumed a leading role in this field and land users are being recognized as key stakeholders in both the adoption and technology development processes. The study, however, reveals a shortage of data on the effectiveness of corporations and other commercial organizations in the technology transfer and adoption processes.
Some of the world's most profound environmental changes are under way in China. Studying the underlying forces of environment-related behaviors at all levels in China is therefore extraordinarily important. This essay helps people outside China increase their understanding of these variables by summarizing findings of Chinese-language surveys conducted in China to measure environmental awareness, attitudes, and behaviors. People in different parts of China have differences in perceptions and behaviors. The article takes a macroscopic snapshot of how the Chinese view their environment as a prelude to analyses of more particularistic perceptions and actions. This snapshot depicts environmental destruction and rampant resource exploitation that is likely to continue for decades to come. However, by understanding this trend it may be possible to findways of eventually slowing it and thereby mitigating long-term environmental damage. The article includes an annotated bibliography of Chinese-language reports on environmental attitudes and behaviors.
A discussion is presented on the key issues in the transfer of environmental technologies to China and more broadly South East (SE) Asia. It identifies constraints to this technology transfer, and in particular, the paper deals with the mechanisms involved including research and technology development and the major (but poorly documented) role of the private sector. The principle constraints to this technology transfer relate to an understanding of the legal context, limited financing, lax enforcement of intellectual property laws by the Chinese government, and a lack of appreciation of inter-cultural issues by the transferring organization. The purpose of the paper is to provide guidance to environmental technology vendors, and other organizations, primarily from Australia, that intend to engage in technology transfer activities with China.
The state of protection for technology in China is widely criticized from the point of view of incompleteness of the legal system as a whole. Much research dwells on the gap between the Chinese legal system and that in industrialized countries or international agreements. In comparison with the developed countries, China lacks core technologies. While holders of such technologies encounter serious problems in China, the Chinese government is not in an enviable position either. Due to the internal impetus and external pressure on China to strengthen protection for technology, China has made a giant stride and made a substantial progress in legislation, enforcement and other areas. However, designing an appropriate system for technology protection is so complex that China will unavoidably face many challenges. The reforms to be carried out in China will be based on the balance between economic and political consideration.
China may be the world’s largest growth market, but it has not always been hospitable to foreign companies. This appears from a survey of 381 managers of foreign companies active in China done by the Center for International Business of Universiteit Nyenrode, Breukelen, the Netherlands. The survey highlighted eight major hurdles that foreign businesses in China must understand and the most effective entry strategy to overcome them – the alliance strategy. Working the Chinese market requires, in addition, entrepreneurship, a fair share of common sense, luck and patience.
In 1957, four computers across the United States were linked to form the first version of what we now know as the Internet. The Internet has grown beyond what anyone working in the U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) more than 40 years ago could have imagined. Yet despite the phenomenal growth of Internet users, and access to information in all fields of endeavor, finding genuinely useful and helpful resources is still a challenge. This article distils information on the most useful Internet listservers for environmental professionals working the site remediation.
Internet listservers provide a means for professionals from all sectors of the industry and profession, to communicate and collaborate with each other, as well as other stakeholders (e.g., suppliers, academics, the general public and community members) in real time. This article highlights key Internet listservers in the field of environmental monitoring in soil contamination and remediation and how to subscribe to them. The most active and relevant listservers for environmental scientists, technologists and professionals in the soil contamination and remediation profession are the Bioremediation Discussion Group (BioGroup), Phytonet, Phytoremediation listserver, Groundwater listserver and Environmental Forensics listserver. Other observations and lessons so far from the use of Internet listservers are: (i) that moderators provide an important role in maintaining the level of quality and participation, (ii) do not underestimate the knowledge base held within these, and (iii) if not selected and managed properly, e-mail from listservers can generate an excess of e-mail and waste time.
Of all the risks of doing business in China, the greatest is the threat posed by environmental degradation. And yet it's barely discussed in corporate boardrooms. This is a serious mistake. Multinationals may be more concerned with intellectual property rights violations, corruption, and potential political instability, but the Chinese government, NGOs, and the Chinese press have been focused squarely on the country's energy shortages, soil erosion, lack of water, and pollution problems, which are so severe they might constrain GDP growth. What's more, the Chinese expect the international community to take the lead in environmental protection. If that doesn't happen, multinationals face clear risks to their operations, their workers' health, and their reputations. In factoring environmental issues into their China strategies, foreign firms need to be both defensive, taking steps to reduce harm, and proactive, investing in environmental protection efforts. Coca-Cola, for example, installed state-of-the-art bottling plants in China that operate with no net loss of water resources. Mattel increased the safety of its Barbie-manufacturing process to protect workers' health. With its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, GE is shrinking its environmental footprint in China; more proactively, GE is working closely with the Chinese government and scientists to develop clean coal, water purification, and water reuse technologies. In considering the value of such efforts, companies can not only factor in reduced risk but also increased opportunity, as they use innovations designed for the Chinese market in the rest of the world. The bottom line: How well multinationals address environmental issues in China will affect their fortunes in one of the most important economies in the world.
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