Nation 'not as powerful as some believe'

For David Shambaugh, China is not the global force that many now seem to automatically presume.


He was in Beijing to promote his new book, China Goes Global: The Partial Power, one of the major books on China this year.
While the popular perception might be that China has had deep enough pockets to keep the world afloat since the financial crisis and that its companies are making acquisitions around the world, the reality, according to Shambaugh, is somewhat different.
"China's ODI(overseas direct investment) was $77.2 billion last year. That ranked China, the world's second-largest economy at No 5 in the world. The Netherlands exports more capital that China does. If you look at the destinations of China's ODI, four of the top five locations are tax havens. It is money that is being parked abroad," he says.
Questioning China's real achievements
Damping down the nation's rejuvenation
Some say China remains limited in its global role


Source: China Daily
Time: 2013-08-12