Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Xunpeng Shi, ERIA
Complaints about cheap Chinese goods flooding the Indonesian market as a result of the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) frequently appear in the Indonesian media.
Given that Indonesia’s manufacturing products are often more expensive than their Chinese counterparts, these criticisms are perhaps justified.
Author: Xunpeng Shi
Huw Slater’s careful reading of my paper on the future of coal in China is most welcome. It is good to have his attention and contribution on the issues in such detail.
Huw Slater’s argument on CO2 data is more a misunderstanding than an issue of debate. The current data on CO2 is calculated based on a constant coefficient of emissions intensity. This is reasonable as CO2 emissions have been free from any regulation until now and emission intensity is thus decided by chemical and physical characteristics, not by the regulatory environment. My empirical study tries to show the changing pattern of emission intensity.
Thus, the published CO2 data appears adequate for analysis, but his comments on CO2 emissions are a good reminder for me to be clear in my story.