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China Report, Ahead of Print.
Following the economic crisis in 2008, several Algerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in key economic sectors were negatively affected. More than 30,000 companies closed in a single year and more than 70,000 jobs were lost as a result of the financial crisis. These negative effects led to several bankruptcies and a deterioration in business management. The government’s efforts to address the crisis include an important measure to promote SME development under the China–Algeria Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, there are divided concerns with regard to the impact of the BRI, which seems to reflect on both prospects and challenges for SME development. Therefore, this study aims to explore the struggles and opportunities of BRI projects in the development of local SMEs in Algeria. In this study, a combination of face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions are conducted with 20 participants. The target group includes general managers, CEOs, entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs. All interviews were recorded face-to-face, later transcribed, translated and thematically analysed. The results show that the BRI has positive impacts on SME development, which reflect on economic opportunities, namely, trade partnerships, market efficiency and productivity, and improve employment opportunities. However, the dominance of Chinese enterprises and the lack of appropriate enterprise policies are among the challenges that hinder the rapid development of SMEs. Therefore, policy reform is needed to ensure the enforcement of foreign enterprise policies that limit the dominance of foreign enterprises and instead encourage the expansion of local enterprises to promote socio-economic growth.

China Report, Ahead of Print.
China’s need for rapid economic growth and its hunger for natural resources significantly challenge its economic and policy vision of sustainability, social stability and economic development. The ‘Beautiful China Initiative’ plans to put China on the path of sustainable development in line with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development GoaSls. The Chinese authorities are expected to reconsider traditional economic policy models to integrate environmental protection while ensuring that their economy proliferates. The shift from a traditional and heavy coal-dependent economy towards greener energy and a sustainable economic model brings additional challenges to China due to its historical dependence on coal as its energy engine. This research paper examines causality patterns between economic growth and fossil fuels energy consumption by analysing coal consumption and carbon dioxide emissions policies using Pesaran’s autoregressive distributed lag model. The research findings offer insights into China’s challenges to transition towards a more sustainable economic model, making the country’s ‘Beautiful China Initiative’ quite complex as it needs to navigate through high levels of environment-friendly economic growth whilst trying to avoid the middle-income trap.

China Report, Ahead of Print.
World War II (WWII) directly impacted the lives of Chinese migrants living in Assam, the Northeastern frontier of British India. The major wars that impacted the lives of Chinese migrants in Assam were the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and WWII. Most of the literature focuses on the Sino-Indian War of 1962, its impact, internment and sociopolitical and cultural aspect of the community afterwards. This study shifts its attention to WWII and its effect on the community. This article investigates the relationship between the colonial state and the migrants. While the state tried to control the population, the community found many ways to negotiate with these control mechanisms, though they were vulnerable. It argues that the community’s experience during WWII is central to understanding their experience during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The control mechanism, like registration, provided them with legal status in Assam but did not ensure legal activities. Sometimes, these activities can be seen as reacting to the control mechanisms.

China Report, Ahead of Print.
This article analyses how shifts in the international system and Turkish domestic factors determine the current relations between Turkey and China. They are combined with changes in the international system and Turkish domestic economic, political and ideological factors. The Uyghur issue, Turkey’s new activism in Central Asia, and the ‘Turkic narrative’ are analysed in the context of bilateral relations. The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War brought the ‘Turkic narrative’ to a new level and gave new impetus and confidence to Ankara in forging a new assertive foreign policy in Central Asia, which could be a challenge for Beijing in the future.