It is difficult to overstate the growing importance of China and Asia in the global economy. Despite the sharp downturn experienced in the 1997 financial crisis, China and Asia have bounced back strongly in the new millennium and delivered solid economic growth. In this book, Ying-Wong Cheung and Kar-Yiu Wong have gathered together 35 renowned researchers from four continents to examine contemporary issues on the economic and financial interactions with a focus on China and Asia. Four broad areas are discussed. The first part deals with China and her interactions with other economies, the second with economic interactions within the region, the third with foreign exchange rate issues facing Asian economies, and the fourth with financial market development in the region. Within these chapters, some interesting results are explained, many of which differ from what is commonly believed. For example it is explained how exports from China and other Asian economies follow the "flying geese' pattern and that these economies can grow in harmony; that appreciating the Asian exchange rates would not have much impact on their current account surpluses; that financial liberalization in Thailand did not create the short-term debt problem, which is believed to a major cause of the 1997 financial crisis. It is also described how developments in the US have very strong influences on Asian economies and that Mainland China was a less important source of external shocks than is commonly held.

It is difficult to overstate the growing importance of China and Asia in the global economy. Despite the sharp downturn experienced in the 1997 financial crisis, China and Asia have bounced back strongly in the new millennium and delivered solid economic growth. In this book, Ying-Wong Cheung and Kar-Yiu Wong have gathered together 35 renowned researchers from four continents to examine contemporary issues on the economic and financial interactions with a focus on China and Asia. Four broad areas are discussed. The first part deals with China and her interactions with other economies, the second with economic interactions within the region, the third with foreign exchange rate issues facing Asian economies, and the fourth with financial market development in the region.

Within these chapters, some interesting results are explained, many of which differ from what is commonly believed. For example it is explained how exports from China and other Asian economies follow the "flying geese? pattern and that these economies can grow in harmony; that appreciating the Asian exchange rates would not have much impact on their current account surpluses; that financial liberalization in Thailand did not create the short-term debt problem, which is believed to a major cause of the 1997 financial crisis. It is also described how developments in the US have very strong influences on Asian economies and that Mainland China was a less important source of external shocks than is commonly held.

An outstanding work, written to celebrate the seventieth birthday of Jagdish Bhagwati; the foremost defender of free trade and its role in developing economies in the world today, this rigorously academic and critical volume represents an important contribution to the understanding of many aspects of globalization. The editors, affiliated with four of the leading economics departments in the USA bring together a stellar line of contributors from across the world to discuss the themes and arguments raised by Bhagwati's latest work.

A renowned professor of economics and regarded as one of the foremost international trade economist of modern times, Jagdish Bhagwati has written or edited over forty books including In Defence of Globalization and Free Trade Today as well as being the founding editor of Economics and Politics and The Journal of International Economics.

A tribute to the great intellectual accomplishments andthe inspiration that Jagdish Bhagwati provided to the field during his prolific and influential career, this book is a must read for all students and academics studying or working in international trade and development economics.

Giinter S. Heiduk* and Kar-yiu Wong** * Institute of International and Regional Economic Relations, University of Du- burg-Essen, Campus Duisburg, Germany ** Department of Economics, University of Washington, Seattle, USA The rapid growth of world trade has become one of the most phenomenal features of the international order after the World War. While different countries were - periencing various growth rates of their economies, most of them found out that foreign trade grew much faster than their economies. As a matter of fact, for most economies, foreign trade has been determined to be one of the biggest and the most consistent contributors to economic growth. Nowadays world trade is a very complicated phenomenon because it is not just an economic but also a social, political, environmental, labour, and legal matter. Economists care about world trade because economies are getting more and more open and world trade is related to the properties of open economies. Government planners care about world trade because it is related to many issues that the economies are facing: Resource allocation, income distribution, employment, p- duction, consumption, government revenue, economic growth, and economic w- fare. A right trade policy will enhance the economic welfare and growth of the economy in a more harmonious and equitable way. A wrong policy, however, could spell disaster.