China’s Relations with African Countries: Strategic Perspective (Case of Madagascar) Essay

Year 1st Semester Course: MEDIA IN CHINA [pic] TOPIC: CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH AFRICAN COUNTRIES: STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE (CASE OF MADAGASCAR) STU. NAME: RANDRIANASOLO Fenolanto Salome STU. NO. CLASS SCHOOL LECTUERER: PROFESSOR LUO QING GRADE: Master CHINA’S RELATIONS WITH AFRICAN COUNTRIES: STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE (CASE OF MADAGASCAR) INTRODUCTION In recent decades, while China can ignore other countries, other countries cannot ignore China. It is beginning to play an increasingly important role in many areas such as economics, political, and socio-cultural. This is a great new rising power at the beginning of the 21st century. This explosive growth of China has generated significant debates among policymakers, scholars and business leaders on a number of levels. China is now building relationships in several countries especially in Africa. There have been a number of contacts between China and African states in recent decades. This paper seeks to understand this recent shift in China’s relation with African countries such as Madagascar. Historical Background In 1955: 29 African and Asian states create the â€Å"Third world† to strengthen its base in Africa and Asia; Since 1960s: . The Chinese leader Mao supported the African independences. China supports the ambassadors of the emerging countries against Western interference in their internal affairs at the United Nations. In 1978: Deng Xiaoping decided to open the Chinese economy by establishing a new form of socialism; Since the 1990: African economies have opened up for the Asian powers including China; China becomes the spokesperson for developing countries within the WTO (world trade organization) Partnership China-Madagascar: China has become increasingly active on the African continent in recent years and this activity has drawn the attention of scholars and journalists, among others. Diplomatic Relations: Madagascar and China established diplomatic relations November 6, 1972 and bilateral relations between the two countries continue to consolidate, develop and to strengthen since. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1972, their relationship and cooperation in the economic, commercial and various grow without ceasing. In recent years, the leaders of both countries attach great importance the development of relations and exchanges of high-level increase, which gives great impetus to the rapid development of bilateral relations of friendship and Malagasy cooperation. The Minister of Foreign Affairs established the first diplomatic relations between China and Madagascar during the transition (1972-1975); The celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between China and Madagascar held on 6th November 2012. Several high Malagasy personalities visited China since the 1990s such as the President of the Republic Albert ZAFY in 1994; Madagascar President Marc RAVALOMANANA arrived in Beijing in 2008. During the current transitional period, Ambassador of China Shen Yongxiang has presented his credentials to the Head of State Andrinirina RAJOELINA. Several high Chinese leaders such as the President of the National People’s Congress Chen Muhua; the Second Prime Minister Jiang Chungun and the Vice President of the Republic Hu Jintao was visited Madagascar. Economic Relations: If China’s economic weight is felt in African countries, in particular Madagascar by its commercial dynamism, the country begins to be an investor not negligible. Since 2005, the partnership agreements between Madagascar and China have continued to increase. For example, the establishment of a cement factory, the construction of a large 5 star hotel by a Chinese group, the future construction of a hospital. And even well before the year 2005, investment in China has already had its place in the economy, be it in the industry â€Å"trade†. China is the largest partner of Madagascar in terms of imports; 95% of products from Madagascar benefit from the Chinese treatment tariff exemption; The agreement of economic and technical cooperation between China and Madagascar was signed in 2006. Several Chinese companies investing in Madagascar in the infrastructure, energy, the exploitation of oil and raw materials. Bilateral cooperation in the economic and commercial widens constantly rapidly increasing bilateral trade, investment activates the  day and exchanges in cultural, educational and human intensify. The consultations between the two countries in international affairs reinforce more. Cultural Relation: During 40 years of partnership, China has provided more than 350 scholarships and has trained more than 860 government officials and journalist. CONFUCIUS Institutes were established in three provinces of the Big Island. Impact and perspective: The Chinese presence opens a new perspective for developing countries and it presents many more choices in terms of policy and developing model. It allows exploitation of natural resources with higher prices of raw materials and facilitates access to international aid. It promotes the diversification of investment, a new spirit based on the expression win-win more attractive. China’s growth is pushing up global demand and therefore  the price of commodities exported by African countries. In addition, China has become the main partner of several African countries: it provides cheaper manufactured goods and reduces their dependence on their ways traditional trading partners. In the case of Madagascar, the local market is still underdeveloped in that 20% of the population live in urban areas and in this context, the abundance of Chinese products (food, textiles, toys, shoes, appliances, †¦ Markets Local penalizes local industries to the extent that the price of Chinese products is well below the cost of local industries and supply is abundant. The competitiveness of local industries is low compared to the value of a product Chinese including textiles and food products. In the Capital Antananarivo, expansion and Chinese domination can be analyzed via the rapid development of a shopping center Behoririka (name of district) in the middle Capital in the image of Chinatown. Added to this is the development of restorations. However, these imports improve the well-being of people in that price consumer goods from China are within the powers of purchases population. The development of these businesses creates jobs but the salary level remains insufficient compared to the level of wages in the private sector in Madagascar. Chinese competition also exerts downward pressure on the cost of investment. Chinese equipment (transport, agriculture) is very cheap an alternative to higher quality goods. However, the lifetime of the equipment is not long compared to the same type of equipment from Europe. Chinese growth will boost African exports but will also increase volatility. China opened its market by treating preferential tariff least developed countries, but this has not yet been impacted on African exports. In the case of Madagascar, export to the China is still insufficient compared to the values of imports and has been a decade. This increases the trade deficit Malagasy and may undermine the external reserves position of the Central Bank of Madagascar. If Europe the main export destination from Madagascar, China still relatively low and represents 2. 2%. In terms of trade between China and Madagascar, relationships become increasingly important during the last decade. Current trends regional trade showed a significant increase and the value of continuous imports from China, and a modest increase in export exports Madagascar to China. Changes in imports and exports of Madagascar with China do not evolve at the same rate, resulting in an imbalance of trade. The exchanges are obviously in favor of China. CONCLUSION In short cooperation with China is mutually beneficial and China has promoted the cultural development in Madagascar. Projects underway in Madagascar, which involve Chinese aid, are also very visible. In terms of foreign direct investment, the weight of Chinese investors is not negligible and is around 10%. The majority of Chinese capital from Hong Kong. Chinese companies are among the providers of jobs in Madagascar. If the participation of France in the capital is very dominant in Madagascar, China’s participation has increased by 0. 8% to 10. 9% over the same period and has a negative influence on the situation in France. This attests to the strengthening of the position China and offset somewhat the impact of French colonization of the current situation. The friendly cooperation in the field of education, health and trade, have borne remarkable fruit. We think that with the principle of mutual benefit, cooperation between China and Madagascar will have a bright future. REFERENCES †¢ http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-africa-13864364 †¢ http://www. irinnews. org/Madagascar †¢ http://www. state. gov/p/af/ci/ma/ †¢ file:///F:/feed%20back%20de%2040%20ans. htm †¢ file:///F:/CCTV%20mirrroir%20d%20afrik%20frappe%20chinoise. htm file:///F:/mada%20chine%202. htm †¢ http://www. xinhuanet. com/english/home. htm †¢ Perspectives economiques en Afrique. OCDE. 2006 †¢ Plan cadre des Nations Unies pour l’assistance au developpement (UNDAF) Madagascar 2008-2011. Systeme des Nations Unies. Juin 2007 †¢ Rapport National sur le Developpement Humain Madagascar 2006 : Le s technologies de l’information et de la communication et developpement humain. PNUD. Avril 2007 †¢ Les echanges entre la Chine et L’Afrique : Situation actuelle, perspectives et sources pour l’analyse , Jean Raphael Chaponniere, STATECO N °100, 2006.

English as a Second Language in Thailand Education

The importance of English as a world language, the advance of technology and education reform envisaged by the new Thai Constitution are key determinants for new developments for English language teaching and learning in Thailand in this decade. This paper will first focus on the role of English and the problems of English language teaching in Thailand. It will also touch on the part of education reform which is related to English language teaching. Then, it will state what has been planned or already done to improve the English language teaching and learning situation in Thailand, now and in the future. The role of English in Thailand is quite important as it is in many other developing countries. New technology and the adoption of the internet have resulted in a major transition in terms of business, education, science, and technological progress, all of which demand high proficiency in English. With the economic downturn in Thailand a few years ago, a large number of Thai companies have embraced cooperation regionally and internationally. Mergers, associations, and takeovers are common and English is used as the means to communicate, negotiate and execute transactions by participants where one partner can be a native speaker of English or none of the partners are native speakers of English. However, Thailand has always been a country with one official language, Thai. We are proud that we have never been colonized. Another reason for having been a country with one language is the concept of national stability. There have been proposals to make Thailand a country with two languages, Thai and English, but this has never materialized due to the abovementioned reasons. English can, therefore, be at most the first foreign language that students must study in schools. Hence, Thais’ level of English proficiency is low in comparison with many countries in Asia (e. g. Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore). According to the speech given by the Minister of the Ministry of University Affairs on March 6, 2000, the average TOEFL scores of Thais are the same as for Mongolians but higher than for North Koreans and Japanese. Researchers on the topics of needs and wants of English in workplaces have also suggested that the English curriculum in Thai universities cannot meet the demands for English used in the workplace. The skills used most at this level are listening and speaking which are not the focus skills in the Thai tertiary education English curriculum. It can be said that up to now English language teaching in Thailand has not prepared Thais for the changing world. Thailand will lag behind in the competitive world of business, education, science and technology if the teaching and learning of English is not improved. Here are some comments concerning the importance of English and the problems of English language teaching in Thailand. Dr. Rom Hiranyapruek, director of Thai Software Park, stated that English is as important to the domain of information technology as other infrastructures. Thais have high proficiency in technology but because of our below average English competence, we cannot make much progress in terms of science and technology. Mrs. Arunsi Sastramitri, director of the Academic Training Section of the Tourist Authority of Thailand, stated that tourism is the main source of inc ome in our country. However, Thai graduates who are in the tourism industry have a poor command of English. This has contributed to misunderstanding and a negative attitude towards Thailand. 2 What has caused the difficulties in English language teaching and learning in Thailand especially in the primary and secondary schools? According to Biyaem, 1997, the teachers and learners face the following difficulties: For teachers, there are many obstacles such as : – heavy teaching loads. – too many students in a class (45 – 60) – insufficient English language skills and native speaker cultural knowledge. – inadequately equipped classrooms and educational technology. university entrance examinations which demand a tutorial teaching and learning style. As for the learners, they wish they could speak English fluently but most of them think that English is too challenging for them to be competent because of these difficulties: – interference from the mother tongue (Thai) particularly in pronunciation, syntax, and idiomatic usage. – lack of opportunit y to use English in their daily lives. – unchallenging English lessons. – being passive learners. – being too shy to speak English with classmates. – lack of responsibility for their own learning. However, it is not only the level of English competence that inhibits Thailand from being able to keep pace with the rapid changes that are taking place everywhere around us, Thai education, as a whole, does not enable Thais to cope with this fast changing world. Thailand’s new constitution, adopted in 1997 has, therefore, established the National Education Act which creates the most radical education reform in Thai history. This education reform to be implemented between 1996 and 2007 involves four main areas: school, curriculum, teacher and administrative reform. Its main concern is that learners have the ability to learn and develop. Learners are the most important component and lifelong learning must be encouraged. A twelve-year basic education will be provided free to all Thai students. In 2005, there will be an Office of Quality Assurance, whose task is to oversee the quality control of education at every level and in every aspect. Schools are to be given more autonomy. There will be greater involvement by families and local communities in school policy and administration. An independent and learner–centered approach is a must, and analytical learning instead of rote learning will be incorporated. Teacher education will also be a focus. Teachers will have to undertake research and develop teaching abilities as well. With the importance of English as a world language and the changes that come with the National Education Act, plus the challenges of new technology, what follows will discuss the English language teaching and learning scenario in Thailand in this decade. 1. More international programs As of last year, there were 56 international schools around the country. There were three foreign colleges and universities in Thailand. In private Thai universities, there were 77 undergraduate, 30 graduate and five Ph. D curricula using English as the language of instruction. In governmental higher education institutions, there were 143 undergraduate, 205 graduate and 77 doctoral international programs in English which have been established either independently by Thai institutes or have links with overseas institutes. It is expected that most new programs to be opened in universities in the future will be international programs.

Strategy Formulation United Way Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategy Formulation United Way - Essay Example Two possible strategies for United Ways would include an integrated marketing communication strategy and a control and monitoring mechanism in the area of corporate governance that would involve appointment of independent auditors as well as implementation of strict code of conduct. The following sections would largely show how these two strategies could be used to counter the issues faced by the organization. The issues and advantages for the two strategies would be specifically analyzed in the following sections. The recent financial crisis had a major impact on the accessibility of funds as disposable income dried up following job cuts. It was becoming difficult for United Ways to sustain itself in the market. Certain alternative strategies for the organization would include going international and seeking funds from across the world. The company could use Americans living in other nations to generate funds for the organization in nations where the effect of financial crisis is le ss severe (Norris, 2007, p.218-220). In addition to this the organization should also use an integrated marketing communication strategy based on social networking and internet to raise funds from international sources.

The sub-prime mortgage crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The sub-prime mortgage crisis - Essay Example The US sub-prime crisis is the historic turning point in the US economy and global culture. It is the result of the collapse of the speculative bubble in the housing market that began to burst in 2006 and has had rippling effects across many countries in the form of financial failures and global credit crunch. The current credit crisis which is the wave of the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market can be evaluated by understanding the history which is associated with it in terms of the effects it has had on the borrower as well as the financial statements of the banks, other financial institutions and the investors in the mortgage backed by securities around the world (Walters, 2008). The mortgage lending market is divided in two sectors prime and sub-prime. Prime borrowers are marked by high income, strong credit rating and sound savings. Sub-prime mortgages are loans which are extended to borrowers who have low credit score, no savings, blemished credit history and weak debt to income ratio. Sub-prime borrowers are considered riskier by the lending institutions and are generally assessed at higher interest rates than the prime borrowers. The sub-prime mortgage market emerged and flourished in the 1990’s. The new trend of extending loans or credit to borrowers with less than perfect profiles was adopted in 1990’s and continued until 2005, resulting in increased homeownership recording 64.1 % in 1993 and 68.9% in 2005(Carpenter,2008). The expansion of sub-prime market improved the access of credit and resulted in the boom in the real estate market. This also led to the expansion of credit to those borrowers whose credit was blemished. This period was also backed by strong overall housing market with increasing value of the home prices. Though this trend did not continue and in 2006 the housing market began to slow down, which resulted in rising late mortgage payments, foreclosures and defaults. This resulted in the collapse of the US sub-pr ime mortgage market. The crisis had widespread impact on the borrowers, investors, financial institutions, securitization, and mortgage broker which led to more involved government regulation. With the emergence of the sub-prime mortgage on the larger scale, there has evolved a new term in the lending world 'predatory lending'. It was seen that as sub-prime market increased so did predatory lending in some form or another. The Joint Report offered this definition: "In a predatory lending situation, the party that initiates the loan often provides misinformation, manipulates the borrower through aggressive sales tactics, and/or takes unfair advantage of the borrower's lack of information about the loan terms and their consequences. The results are loans with onerous terms and conditions that the borrower often cannot repay, leading to foreclosure or bankruptcy" (Carpenter, 2008). This brings in the ethics applied in the lending industry where sub-prime lending can be encouraged and predatory lending can be controlled using regulatory authorities. Owning a house is very noble desire very intrinsic to the happiness of the human beings. When the system goes against this virtue and creates more damage to the parties concerned it becomes a widespread crisis. Sound ethical practice applied to different segments of the mortgage industry will provide a channel which will help solve this ruthless money making machinery from exploiting the situation of nave customers or borrowers. The first time home buyers are elated and confused. It is an intimidating experience for the borrowers especially if they have been declined credit because of their income or credit history. It is a challenging task to negotiate the maze of loan processing which are overwhelming in terms of loan terms, fees, and financing documents. Most of the time borrowers place their trust in the broker or the lending authority which initiates the

How We Got Lincoln Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How We Got Lincoln - Essay Example Judd, in order to give Lincoln an advantage of home city. Another thing was the reaction that Abraham Lincoln got to his speech that he delivered in Copper Union in 1860, which attracted a lot of Northeastern Republicans, who were already seeking an alternative to Senator Seward. This paper tends to discuss and analyze, â€Å"How we got Lincoln†, by focusing on the national republican convention held in Chicago in1860. Abraham Lincoln became a nominee for presidency in the convention. The writer states that much was said against Senator Seward, who was the focus of attention on the May 17, 1860 Chicago national republican convention, something that went in support of Abraham Lincoln. Delegates from 24 states, including Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland, attended the Chicago convention. William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Abraham Lincoln of Illinois were the primary nominees from a turf of twelve candidates. Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, a candid abolitionist was selected as vice-president. The Republican platform, which was adopted by the convention, clearly stated that slavery would not be extended, nor promoted anymore, for the benefit of the black community. It stated that free-homestead legislation would be enacted, and a daily mail-service and a transcontinental railroad will be established. In the convention, three candidates stood in opposition of Lincoln. They were Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat), John Bell (Constitutional Union Party), and John Cabell Breckenridge (Southern Democrat). Douglas was Lincoln’s closest rival. Lincoln's key squabble for recognition at the convention was Douglas’ defeat for the Senate in the 1860 election in his home state of Chicago, Illinois. Given that Douglas was a popular Democratic nominee, Lincoln's show in the election was significant. However, Lincoln won a lot more votes than Douglas, winning a good percentage of the popular vote. There was also a lot of competition for the Republican nomination in the convention. The Republican candidates included Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania,  Ben Wade and Salmon Chase of Ohio,  Cassius Clay of Kentucky, and Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was the least known among all the Republican candidates, because he had not held any elected position since 1840. Lincoln had fewer votes than Seward on the first and second ballet, but won from the third ballot in the convention. In the third ballet, Lincoln was short of a few votes, but Ohio chair, over a settlement, declared the switch of four votes from Salmon Chase to Lincoln, which pushed Lincoln over the required total. The convention expressed immense applause. After a long journey of campaign and elections, the Vice President Breckinridge, on February 11, announced the victory of Abraham Lincoln. Republican success in the Chicago convention became possible not only because of Lincoln’s stance against slavery, but also due to dissatisfaction of the citizens with the D emocratic Party. Hence, we see that the writer has portrayed a true picture of the Chicago national convention of 1860, in which Lincoln won his nomination as a president. The writer has given intricate details, and there is nothing else about the convention that is left to be conveyed to the reader. The writer, in his article, has tried to convey the true picture of achievement by Abraham Lincoln at the Chicago conve

Research methods assignment Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Methods assignment - Research Paper Example Mekonnen and Harris (2006) is an empirical investigation whether â€Å"cause-related† and â€Å"affinity marketing† enhances the product’s appeal and provides product differentiation (p. 135). In particular, the study investigated whether â€Å"linking a commercial organisation’s product with a non-profit organisation enhances the product’s appeal and provides differentiation from rival offers† (Mekonnen and Harris 2006, p. 135). Mekonnen and Harris (2006, p. 135) articulated that the purpose or aim of their study is to investigate the efficacy of the premise of â€Å"affinity marketing†. The research objectives were not explicitly stated but it can be surmised that, implicitly, the research objectives covered identification of values associated with the use of affinity cards and how they affect the likelihood of donation. 2.0. Literature Review Based on a review of literature, Mekonnen and Harris (2006, p. 136) claim that â€Å"there are significant gaps in understanding consumer attitudes† towards products being sold by â€Å"cause-related marketing† and â€Å"affinity marketing†. ... 136). Mekonnen and Harris (2006, p. 135) declared their work as a challenge to the assumption â€Å"that linking a product to a non-profit organisation enhances its appeal and provides a basis for differentiation.† For Mekonnen and Harris (2005, p. 135), â€Å"the efficacy of this premise depends on the type of cause or affinity group.† Unfortunately, however, the review of literature of Mekonnen and Harris (2006) does not amount to an illustration of the â€Å"significant gaps in understanding consumers’ attitude† in the literature. It is not clear from the review of literature what the various studies have made or the findings they have reached on the relationship between â€Å"cause-related market marketing† and â€Å"affinity marketing† on one hand and product sales on the other. Perhaps there was no empirical study done at all prior on cause-oriented and affinity marketing prior to their study but this is not clear from the review of lit erature. However, because of the failure to illustrate what empirical studies have done or to explicitly clarify at least that no study has been done, the review of literature fails to identify precisely or to justify precisely the significance of the Mekonnen and Harris (2006) endeavour in the overall literature on the subject. The review of literature narrated that cause-oriented marketing has been conventionally characterised as being focused on short-term campaign initiatives (Mekonnen and Harris 2006, p. 136). It also pointed out that the affinity marketing is a sub-set of cause-related marketing (Mekonnen and Harris 2006, p. 136). However, citing the work of Berger and others in 1999, Mekonnen and Harris (2006, p. 136) clarified that â€Å"affinity marketing can

Case asalysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case asalysis - Assignment Example 12 percent of the respondents claim they would immediately consult a health care provider if the option of a weight-loss prescription drug was available. The results of the clinical trials are also pretty encouraging. All these aspects have prompted CSP to seek a nod from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for manufacturing and marketing Metabical. Two major decisions pertaining to packaging and pricing of Metabical still need to be taken. Both these decisions are to be taken by Barbara Printup, senior director of marketing for CSP. The company expects Metabical to be approved as a 12-week treatment plan. CSP contemplates that a days-of-the-week, ‘blister’ style wrap up would be the optimal package for the drug. The quantum of medicine to be put in one pack is dependent on the price and paying capacity of the target market. The final decision on pricing is to be taken on one of the three models; competition based pricing, mark-up pricing and value based pricing. In the ultimate analysis, these important decisions would determine the demand (unit value) for Metabical. Market research suggests that the condition of being overweight is all pervasive. It affects people of all demographic profiles. Both men and women, young and old are overweight. Thus CSP can segment the potential Metabical consumers on various segmentation variables including demographic, socio-economic and behavioral. CSP can use multiple criteria to segment the customers. At the outset the behavioral segmentation can be deployed to identify the customers who are willing to avail the benefit of weight loss. Printup has valuable information on important parameters like age, gender, education level, income level and prevalence of obesity in the United States. This data will enable Printup take an informed decision on segmentation of customers. Printup has reasons to