Dr. Wan-Hsin Liu

The research project studies the effects that China’s growing economic engagement has on African economies, and how China’s economic presence is perceived by African citizens. To this effect, the key dimensions of trade, investment, aid, debt, and migration flows from China to Africa (and vice versa) are analyzed.

Dr. Wan-Hsin Liu, expert on China, international trade and investment at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, comments on the economic policy options for the EU and Germany in light of the upcoming presidential election in Taiwan:

Germany is one of the most important target countries for Chinese investors and ranks tenth among all countries in terms of Chinese FDI stock abroad. Particularly the transport sector and the technology sector in Germany received a great amount of investments from Chinese investors in recent years. Although China has recently focused more than ever on geostrategic investments in countries of the "Belt and Road Initiative," investments in Germany remain strategically important for Chinese investors to gain access to key Technologies.

Due to the special structure of the global coffee trade, smallholders in coffee-growing countries have few opportunities to increase their value added and thus earn higher incomes. This is particularly true for growing Arabica coffee beans that are usually used for coffee roasting. The few large multinational coffee enterprises that dominate the market therefore have an immense social responsibility towards their suppliers.

For many, it is hard to imagine to start a day without coffee. But who and which countries actually have benefitted more from the global coffee production and consumption? How has global coffee trade developed over the past decades? Does global coffee trade contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals? How can coffee growing countries, of which many are developing or emerging countries, benefit more from being integrated into the global coffee value chain and from taking over more coffee processing work? What kind of support can be provided by multinational enterprises? How can policy and international cooperation help in this regard?