What's good for the United States may well turn out to be good for international economic policy coordination. In this post-cold war era marked by pressing domestic social concerns and fiscal deficits, Robert L. Paarlberg says that the U.S. government should take an inward-first approach to global economic policy. Unless the domestic front is secured, he believes that international initiatives cannot succeed for lack of domestic support. It's a contrary view. The outward-first approach has dominated U.S. policy in the post-war and cold war eras. Paarlberg holds that the period was exceptional in the longer history of the nation and its relations with other nations. In the future, this sort of policymaking will be increasingly difficult to sustain. The U.S. economy is not as strong as it once was in relation to other economies. The security imperatives of the cold war have largely evaporated. And Congress is certainly no longer deferential to the executive branch. Under these new circumstances, outward-first international conferences, international negotiations, and international agreements may not work as a starting point for international economic cooperation. In this highly readable book, part of the Brookings Integrating National Economies Series, Paarlberg offers an in-dept examination of the merits of an inward-first approach to economic policy leadership. He contends that this approach should not be equated with protectionism, because it refers only to policy sequence, not to content. To the extent that inward-first is unilateral, he maintains that unilateral action at home can pave the way for cooperative actions abroad. He tests his argument with more detailed studies in severaldifferent policy arenasincluding international fiscal policy coordination and discipline, agricultural policy reform, and global environmental policy. Leadership Abroad Begins at Home presents an instructive survey of American political and policymaking institutions, and of America's changing position in the world. A volume of Brookings' Integrating National Economies Series

In an act of totally unnecessary and wanton destruction, British forces in China during the Second Opium War (1856-1860) looted and destroyed much of the Old Imperial Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) including three imperial gardens and hundreds of halls, pavilions, and temples stock full of ancient artwork, antiquities, and literary works. More than a hundred years later, President Xi Jinping (2013- ) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) proclaimed the "rejuvenation" of the Chinese nation with the economic and especially military power to prevent any such recurrence of "national humiliation." Though not yet a superpower equal in global stature to the United States, the PRC is undoubtedly poised to become the equal if not the superior power in the Asia-Pacific region expanding its territorial claims in the South China Sea and asserting undisputed economic dominance. With government, business, and academic leaders debating how regional and global powers should respond to a rising China. Historical Dictionary of Chinese Foreign Affairs contains a chronology, an introduction, a glossary, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on major events, national institutions, foreign nations, and personages impacting Chinese foreign affairs along with the many institutions of the post-World War II international order that the PRC has engaged especially since the 1970s. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Chinese foreign affairs.

Genetically modified (GM) food crops have inspired increasing controversy over the past decade. By the mid-1990s they were widely grown in the U.S., Canada, and Argentina, but precautionary regulations continue to limit their use elsewhere. The restrictive policies of Europe and Japan toward GM crops have been much discussed. Less attention has been paid to the policies affecting the adoption of GM crops in the developing world, where their potential impact on the availability and quality of food is even greater.

In this book Robert Paarlberg looks at the policy choices regarding GM food made by four important developing countries: Kenya, Brazil, India, and China. Of these, so far only China has approved the planting of GM crops. Paarlberg identifies five policy areas in which governments of developing countries can either support or discourage GM crops: intellectual property rights, biosafety, trade, food safety, and public research and investment. He notes that highly cautious biosafety policies have so far been the key reason that Kenya, Brazil, and India have hesitated to plant GM crops. These cautious policies have been strongly reinforced by international market forces and international diplomatic and NGO pressures. China has been less cautious toward GM crops, in part because there is less opportunity in China for international organizations or independent critics of GM crops to challenge official policy.