As the potential transformative effects and threats of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being uncovered, its standards are becoming increasingly debated on the international stage. However, one of...Show moreAs the potential transformative effects and threats of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being uncovered, its standards are becoming increasingly debated on the international stage. However, one of the three major AI powers, i.e. China, has its approach often reduced to be merely state-centric, which may cause misunderstanding and faulty policies. This thesis exames various standardization strategies concerning both formal and de facto standards, with as aim to better understand the driving forces and crucial factors that are at play in China's standardization participation.Show less
China is the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market, possessing 4.5 million EVs in 2020, far ahead of the second-place country - the U.S., with 1.7 million EVs in the same period (Silver,...Show moreChina is the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) market, possessing 4.5 million EVs in 2020, far ahead of the second-place country - the U.S., with 1.7 million EVs in the same period (Silver, 2021). This is because the government promotes EVs as the future of urban mobility due to its low emission characteristic (Iea.org, 2020). However, some researchers argue, that if considering the production and disposal of the vehicles and EV batteries, the life cycle environmental impacts of EVs can be much bigger and EVs may not be as ‘clean’ as most people have thought (Yu, et al., 2018). This is especially true for China, where the electricity generation is still highly relying on high polluting coal-fired plants, landfilling is used for EV and battery disposal that generate enamours negative environmental impacts, the resources for battery production are not secured, and so on (Eguchi, et al., 2020, Song, et al., 2016, Liu, et al., 2020). It is urgent for now to study how to mitigate or solve these environment impacts. Through an extensive literature review, this research has identified the key factors influencing the life cycle environmental impacts of EVs in China. The key findings are summarized as following. At the production stage, most of the environmental impacts are caused by the EV barratries production, including reduces the resource security as it requires a large amount of cobalt, lithium, coal, and such. These resources are non-renewable and some of the extraction rate is very low (Liu, et al., 2020, Zeng, wt al., 2015); it also generates air and water pollution since the electricity to support EV production in China is mainly generated from coal-fired plants (Eguchi, et al., 2020). At the utilization stage, there is normally no direct impact to the environment, but the electricity output efficiency in China is very low, meaning more coal are required and more pollution would be generated to support the EV charging (Jiang, 2019); also, thermal hazard may happen occasionally under abusive condition, for example, in car crashing (Ouyang, et al., 2019). At the end-of-life stage, landfilling is the most common method to dispose EVs and EV batteries in China. Reduces resource security as it make valuable materials on EV uncoverable, generate heavy metal pollution, and reduce food security as landfilling disfunction the agricultural land (Costa, et al., 2021, Song, et al., 2016, Zeng, II et al., 2015, Tencent New, 2019, People.cn, 2020); nevertheless, most of the environmental impacts can be mitigated or solved by recycling the EV and EV battery, yet, there is no clear standards as well as agenda for both EV and EV battery recycling in China (Song, et al., 2016, Shu, et al., 2021, Yu, et al., 2020, Casper, et al., 2020, Abdullah, 2021). Accordingly, recommendations are proposed to shed a light on the sustainable transition of urban mobility, assuring ‘cleaner’ pathways for future EV development in China. Switching the current electricity generation system to more sustainable ones can mitigate the environmental impacts generated from EV and EV battery production, and EV charging. Reducing or phasing out the current EV subsidy scheme and encourage car-sharing. Setting up clear standards as well as proper agenda to facilitate EVs and EV batteries recycling is able to enhance the resource security for EV and EV battery production, and the environmental impacts generated from landfilling. Additionally, promote alternative subject which is more sustainable is also a possible solution. Nevertheless, the whole life cycle of the value chain for the alternative subjects must be examined to indicate the sustainability before promotion.Show less
In dit scriptie is er op basis van voorbeelden uit series een vergelijking gemaakt in de uitingen van homoseksualiteit in Chinese donghua en Japanse anime. Ook is er kort ingegaan op de...Show moreIn dit scriptie is er op basis van voorbeelden uit series een vergelijking gemaakt in de uitingen van homoseksualiteit in Chinese donghua en Japanse anime. Ook is er kort ingegaan op de geschiedenis van animatie en het ontstaan van homoseksualiteit in geanimeerde series en films.Show less
The main cause of birth-rate decline, in any country as well as China, is due to natural changes in socio-economic factors, such as the labour market, prospects of financial stability, the housing...Show moreThe main cause of birth-rate decline, in any country as well as China, is due to natural changes in socio-economic factors, such as the labour market, prospects of financial stability, the housing market, the marriage market, a work-life balance, urbanization, affordable childcare and education of both men and women. The one-child policy might have assisted a fast-track through the stages of demographic transition, but the main reason for the current continuation of low fertility is caused by these socio-economic factors. To prove the legitimacy of this argument, even though there were no birth control policies set in place in Japan since the end of the Second World War, fertility still declined due to similar socio-economic circumstances as in China today. However, after Japanese policy makers started addressing some of the socio-economic factors, birth rates did ever so slightly improve since the low in 2005, further showing evidence of the importance of these determining factors. The argument that will be used in this paper to answer the research question “Why did Chinese policymakers drop the one-child policy and how effective is this policy move in reversing the demographic trends?” is as follows: The one-child policy was fully dropped as policy makers finally realized, while too late due to the opaqueness of the Chinese government, that the fertility rates were socially and economically unsustainable. The effect of the implemented policies in reversing the demographic trend is weak because the socio-economic factors which determine continuous low fertility are not addressed.Show less
China’s national identity plays a crucial role in the research of Chinese nationalism security and historical memory making. Identity politics played an increasingly important role in China,...Show moreChina’s national identity plays a crucial role in the research of Chinese nationalism security and historical memory making. Identity politics played an increasingly important role in China, especially after the reform and opening up of the Chinese economy initiated by Deng Xiaoping and the 1989 Tiananmen crisis. The CCP’s moral and ideological legitimacy was increasingly challenged. Deng and Jiang Zemin turned to patriotic education and Confucianism for the solution, citing the lack of patriotic feelings among citizen as the cause for the Tiananmen crisis (Gilley 1998, 271-2). The selective and “active forgetting” nature of writing history is also present in the construction of national identity and political discourse which are dependent on elites and their political aims (Renwick & Qing 1999, 112). Under Xi’s rule, the national identity discourse has taken a shift in narratives, where nationalism humiliation faded slowly into the background and gradually replaced by more ambitious and victorious narratives (Chang 2021). The motivation behind this shift can be shortly summarise as CCP’s historical goals of “great rejuvenation of the nation” which Xi explicitly expressed since his succession. The construction of national identity involves selecting specific historical events as strong evidence for themes, even though it might ignore or exclude the complete picture, especially in China, where the historical discourse is highly politicalised (Zhao 2015). Therefore, this paper is interested in “How does China constructs its national identity discourse around the themes of ‘The China Dream’ and ‘Chinese inherent peacefulness’”? The documentary Great Power Diplomacy will be used as a case study in answering this 2 question. It is argued that the CCP has carefully constructed a framework in integrating themes of “China Dream” and “Chinese inherent peacefulness” into the Chinese national discourse through propaganda, while the constructed discourse also serves as a useful tool in deflecting criticism.Show less
In a political landscape where traditional state expansion is increasingly more challenging to achieve, great powers seek expansion at the physical and metaphysical boundaries of the world instead....Show moreIn a political landscape where traditional state expansion is increasingly more challenging to achieve, great powers seek expansion at the physical and metaphysical boundaries of the world instead. Seen from the theoretical perspective of knowledge as a power-increasing commodity, the melting Arctic becomes a site of non-violent power struggle through scientific, economic and political means. This paper observes China's increasing role in the region through these avenues as it seeks to influence Arctic governance, despite not being an Arctic state. In addition to a general overview, a case study of Chinese state and non-state actors' activities in Norway's Arctic region seeks to further illustrate the ties between science, economics, and politics in the Arctic political landscape. Through a qualitative examination of secondary and primary sources, the paper concludes that the mutually beneficial ties between knowledge production and market expansion in the Arctic have the potential to aid a non-Arctic great power such as China in achieving political influence in the region.Show less
China has emerged as a new rising power with the largest Navy force and the second-biggest economy in the world. A regional collective defense security organization, NATO, has expanded its global...Show moreChina has emerged as a new rising power with the largest Navy force and the second-biggest economy in the world. A regional collective defense security organization, NATO, has expanded its global partnership to the Asia-Pacific region. This thesis seeks to research the impact of the military rise of China on NATO-led security cooperation among NATO and far yet like-minded countries. Comparative qualitative content analysis is conducted to elaborate on how the security implications of the rise of China engendered NATO to form global initiatives, analyzing two cases, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand. Theoretical expectations are based on Regional Security Complex Theory, which is anchored on constructivism: if NATO successfully securitizes China's rise, the ROK and NZ will create bilateral or multilateral security cooperation with NATO. This paper finds out that NATO successfully framed China as an identity and a military threat, and expanded security cooperation with the ROK and NZ based on common liberal norms and values.Show less
All over the world local governments engage in ‘decentral diplomacy’, which refers to the international relations of sub-state regions (Dams, 2022; Šimalčík, Šebok, Kalivoda, & Blablová, 2021)....Show moreAll over the world local governments engage in ‘decentral diplomacy’, which refers to the international relations of sub-state regions (Dams, 2022; Šimalčík, Šebok, Kalivoda, & Blablová, 2021). European regions often engage in decentral diplomacy with Chinese provinces because of the expected economic outcome. The question is often asked, however, how does a region economically make the most out of these relationships? This thesis studies the domestic state-local political dynamism that influences economic opportunities emerging from the provincial relationship with Jiangsu province. In an interview-based comparative case study using a most similar systems design, the Dutch province Noord-Brabant is compared to the Moravian Silesian Region in Czechia. Whereas these regions are comparable in certain aspects, of which their relationship to Jiangsu is the most important, this thesis makes the comparison studying three dissimilar factors: the extent of central-local coordination on China policy, the institutional structure of the regional relationships, and the local institutional bureaucratic effort. These factors are expected to explain the difference in economic opportunities emerged through the relationship with Jiangsu province. Studying the determinants of good interstate relations at the local level, this thesis finds that based on these two cases particularly the institutional structure of the regional relationships and the local institutional bureaucratic effort are important for economic opportunities emerged through the relationship with Jiangsu.Show less
This thesis investigates the absence of FTAs between Japan and China. It does this by putting the focus on two particular trade agreements. The first of which is the recently signed Regional...Show moreThis thesis investigates the absence of FTAs between Japan and China. It does this by putting the focus on two particular trade agreements. The first of which is the recently signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP), an FTA with fifteen participating countries. The second is an agreement that has yet to become a reality; the China, Japan, South-Korea, China agreement.Show less
This thesis investigates the following research question: ''How has the development of the economic interdependence between China and Indonesia affected their behavior in the Natuna territorial...Show moreThis thesis investigates the following research question: ''How has the development of the economic interdependence between China and Indonesia affected their behavior in the Natuna territorial dispute.'' The conclusion is that in the last twenty years Indonesia has developed an economic dependence on China. As a result, China has increasingly used bluffing in the Natuna dispute. As a response, Indonesia has been caught in a balancing act between the economic interests of the Natuna territory and its relationship with China. On the one hand, Indonesia has been constrained by China’s behavior. On het other hand, Indonesia has also been more determined to resist China’s bluffing. This has led to more incidents and incidents with a higher level of hostility over time.Show less
Since the early 2000s, China has experimented with a range of development-oriented diplomatic initiatives based on multilateral regionalism. One of these initiatives is the Macau Forum, a grouping...Show moreSince the early 2000s, China has experimented with a range of development-oriented diplomatic initiatives based on multilateral regionalism. One of these initiatives is the Macau Forum, a grouping created in 2003 that brings China together with nine lusophone countries to promote economic and trade exchanges. This case study investigates China’s motives for creating and maintaining this multilateral project and examines perceptions from its lusophone participants. The significance of this analysis is that it provides a more granular understanding of the rationale and results of China’s ever-increasing promotion of alternative international development cooperation frameworks in the Global South. To research this topic, I relied primarily on historically-contextualised discourse analysis of primary material from diplomatic and academic sources. Results of this analysis reveal that China was motivated (1) to promote and test out a Chinese vision of development cooperation, (2) to strengthen Macau’s integration with mainland China and (3) to secure Beijing's diplomatic recognition among lusophone countries. Commentary from lusophone diplomats, however, highlights the lack of perceived concrete benefits for the Macau Forum’s participant members. On this basis, the Macau Forum can be likened to other China-led multilateral regional initiatives, such as the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), that are balanced asymmetrically in China’s favour.Show less
Mainstream International Relations theories perceive the China-Myanmar bilateral relationship in terms of a zero-sum game, in which the close ties between the two countries either benefit China or...Show moreMainstream International Relations theories perceive the China-Myanmar bilateral relationship in terms of a zero-sum game, in which the close ties between the two countries either benefit China or not. Such theories are too simplistic. Often overlooked is not only the complex domestic situation in Myanmar, but also how China and Myanmar cultivated a strong bilateral relationship during the NLD era. In order to account for Myanmar’s complex domestic context, this thesis analyses the security impact of the coup on the ethnic rebel-controlled areas bordering China, and the economic impact on the Sino-Myanmar pipelines, one of China’s major Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects. The research question of this study is: to what extent did China materially benefit from the February 1 coup in Myanmar? This thesis concludes that the coup increased the intensity of the conflict with EAOs, thus worsening the subsequent adverse conflict spill-over effect in the border areas. Furthermore, China’s BRI investments, including the pipelines, have historically been more secure under civilian NLD rule then under the military Tatmadaw rule. Thus, the February 2021 coup does not materially benefit China.Show less
This thesis examines the ways in which the People's Republic of China is portrayed in Dutch newspapers between 2019 and 2021. It uses Sinological-orientalism for its theoretical framework and...Show moreThis thesis examines the ways in which the People's Republic of China is portrayed in Dutch newspapers between 2019 and 2021. It uses Sinological-orientalism for its theoretical framework and applies a critical discourse analysis on 120 newspaper articles. It seeks to understand the relation between power and the knowledge of the People's Republic of China that is present in these newspaper articles.Show less
