Many researchers and China observers would agree that understanding how China pursues global communication is critical for assessing its growing soft power. While soft power as a concept has, in many ways, become almost inextricably linked with the PRC's (People's Republic of China) international diplomacy of the twenty-first century, the specific role of global media within soft power diplomacy and the corresponding influence of Western mediated public diplomacy within China is a lacuna that has remained largely unexplored. Moreover, the different Chinese and Western perspectives on the influence of global media and public diplomacy on Sino-Western relations, and the changing role of global media on this crucial aspect of international politics, have not yet been critically examined. This volume presents a broad social science audience with recent innovative scholarship and research findings on global media and public diplomacy concerning Sino-Western relations. It focuses on the implicit nexus between global media and public diplomacy, and their actual utilisation in and impact on the shifting relationships between China and the West. Special attention is given to the changing nature of globalised media in both China and Western nations, and how globalised media is influencing, shaping and changing international politics. The contributions delve deeply into both theory and practice, and focus especially upon the analysis of several key aspects of the issue from both Chinese and Western perspectives. This combination of approaches distinguishes the volume from most other published works on the topic, and greatly enriches our knowledge base in this important contemporary field.

The urbanisation of China over the last three decades has been a hugely significant development, both for China's reform process and for the world more generally. This book presents recent research findings on China's continuing urban transformation. Subjects covered include the decline of the rural-urban divide, the spatial restructuring of Chinese urban centres and urban infrastructure, migrant workers, new housing and new communities, and "green" responses to urban environmental problems. The book is particularly valuable in that it includes much new work by scholars based inside China.

The urbanisation of China over the last three decades has been a hugely significant development, both for China's reform process and for the world more generally. This book presents recent research findings on China's continuing urban transformation. Subjects covered include the decline of the rural-urban divide, the spatial restructuring of Chinese urban centres and urban infrastructure, migrant workers, new housing and new communities, and "green" responses to urban environmental problems. The book is particularly valuable in that it includes much new work by scholars based inside China.

The Asia-Pacific region is rapidly becoming the main area of growth in the global economy in the 21st century. Recent developments in the movement of people, goods, services, and information are closely linked to the latest round of globalization, of which the effects on this region are particularly dramatic.The papers in this volume are by leading scholars, business leaders and government officials from the region. They include Yuan-Tseh Lee, Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry, who reflects on the global flow of knowledge and talent; and Alfonso Yuchengco, one of the region's most respected business leaders and diplomats, who discusses transnational businesses, diplomacy, and China's re-emergence as a world power. Other papers present new insights into the processes and policies governing flows of migrants, trade, investment, transport, information technology, and ideas. This book originated from the 2006 Annual Conference of the Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Beppu, Japan, supported by an International Scientific Meetings Grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. It will be of interest to all students and scholars of this dynamic region.Pookong Kee and Hidetaka Yoshimatsu are Professors in the College of Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.

This collection of papers by leading scholars, business leaders, and government officials discusses recent developments in the global movements of people, goods, services, and information in the Asia-Pacific region. Such movements are both the cause and consequence of the latest round of globalization, a process of special significance to the Asia-Pacific region. The lead paper by Professor Yuan-Tseh Lee, Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry and former President of Academia Sinica, offers a personal reflection on international education and the global flow of knowledge and talent. Another lead paper by Ambassador Alfonso Yuchengco, one of the region's most respected business leaders and diplomats, provides insights on transnational businesses and diplomacy, especially in the ASEAN Plus-Three context and China's re-emergence as a world power. Other papers present new theoretical, policy and empirical understanding of international migration, trade and investment movements, global logistics, and transnational flows of information technology and architectural influences. The papers were made possible by the International Scientific Meetings Grant of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Ministry of Education, which encourages the involvement of young scholars in the wider dissemination of knowledge on issues of major scientific and practical importance to the international community.

Many researchers and China observers would agree that understanding how China pursues global communication is critical for assessing its growing soft power. While soft power as a concept has, in many ways, become almost inextricably linked with the PRC's (People's Republic of China) international diplomacy of the twenty-first century, the specific role of global media within soft power diplomacy and the corresponding influence of Western mediated public diplomacy within China is a lacuna that has remained largely unexplored. Moreover, the different Chinese and Western perspectives on the influence of global media and public diplomacy on Sino-Western relations, and the changing role of global media on this crucial aspect of international politics, have not yet been critically examined. This volume presents a broad social science audience with recent innovative scholarship and research findings on global media and public diplomacy concerning Sino-Western relations. It focuses on the implicit nexus between global media and public diplomacy, and their actual utilisation in and impact on the shifting relationships between China and the West. Special attention is given to the changing nature of globalised media in both China and Western nations, and how globalised media is influencing, shaping and changing international politics. The contributions delve deeply into both theory and practice, and focus especially upon the analysis of several key aspects of the issue from both Chinese and Western perspectives. This combination of approaches distinguishes the volume from most other published works on the topic, and greatly enriches our knowledge base in this important contemporary field.