SGIA3381: CHINA IN GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

• None

• None

• This module aims to provide detailed knowledge and advanced discussion of Chinas international relations with the global political economy. Emphasis will be placed on the discussion of various exciting and new international interfaces between China and the global political economy, with a view to examining the challenges and opportunities that face the global political economic system.

• The module includes two introductory lectures and a series of two-hour seminars.
• Introductory lectures draw attention to the theoretical backgrounds of the global political economy and the critical assessment on China model and Chinas Go-Out strategies.
• Seminars try to examine the politics of Chinas global economic relations in those major areas such as China and the WTO, intellectual property rights in China, China in global production, FDI in China, impact of the financial crises on China, internationalization of Chinese currency, Chinese outward FDI, China sovereign wealth fund, Chinas high-tech development and China and the global environment.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of the module, students should:
• Understand key theoretical trends and development of the global political economy and their implications to Chinese economic development.
• Show detailed and systematic knowledge of changes in Chinas relationship with the global political economy.
• Understand some major driving forces of Chinas global economic integration.
• Acquire appropriate knowledge of Chinas responses after the international financial crises and the domestic/international debate on Chinese financial internationalisation.
• Understand the relationship between China and global transnational economic relations.
• Knowledge enhancement on critical issues between China and the world, such as intellectual property rights, international trade, global production, FDI and global environment.
• Assess current news and media coverage on China and their academic linkages.

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of the module, students should be able to:
• Describe, analyse and evaluate Chinas roles in the architecture of the global political economy.
• Utilise advanced scholarly resources, statistics and materials to establish sound academic judgement about the process and construction of Chinas global economic integration.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of the international financial crises for Chinese economic development.
• Explore and critically assess the tension between Chinese economic strategies and the global political economy, and the options and obstacles China faces.

Key Skills:

• Through the module, students should further develop key skills including:
• Participation in discussion and presentation of research.
• Engaging critically in debate in topical issues.
• Independent learning and thinking.
• Writing scholarly essays of substantial length.
• Critical discussion on news and assessment of media coverage to assess if the theories or academic meaning help explain the current news.

• Teaching will be conducted through a combination of lectures, seminars and consultation/revision. Lectures aim to reinforce some major theoretical discussion and provide more advanced knowledge on new development as well as to draw attention to the central/most current debate to formulate some core understanding.
• Student-led presentation and discussion allow the students to generate skills and the articulation of the central focus of the topic with a view to gradually establishing their capacity for independent thinking and evaluation.
• Student presentations will be based on the module materials as well as other sources.
• Consultation/revision helps students to gear up the previous teaching, rethinking key thematic development and prepare for summative assessment.
• The formative assessment (1,500 word essay) will be used to construct and formulate logical and appropriate argument with clear academic articulation. Feedback will be given for further improvement.
• Presentation allows students to focus on a specific topic, to summarize through abstraction and to advance an open debate.
• Discussants role helps develop a constant academic assessment on news covering China and the world economy.
• The critical discussion in the formative presentation will help students to participate and will link up what they have leant in the class about China and the world economy together with the assessment of some media coverages. When a student presents the topic, another student will act as commentator by using three pieces of newspapers articles from different newspaper or weekly magazine (on a similar issue) to see if the theories or academic meaning help explain the current news, why and why not.
• The summative assessment (5,000 word essay) will test the capacity for synthesis, analysis and logical evaluation in relation to material drawn from all or most of the module.

Each student will be required to submit one 1,500 word essay; undertake 1 seminar presentation; and act as discussant on another students presententation.

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