Abstract The rapid development of information and communication technologies over the past two decades has resulted in profound transformations in traditional economic and trade activities, leading to the scaling of digital trade across the Asian region and beyond. Drawing on the conceptual framework of the regime complex, this article seeks to delineate the main features of regional digital trade governance in the Asian region and China’s engagement with the regime-building process in this policy field. It demonstrates that the digital trade governance landscape in Asian countries comprises a collection of partially overlapping and nonhierarchical regimes, where different regional actors are formulating competing visions and approaches to digital trade governance. In addition, the dynamic nature of the digital trade regime complex in Asia and China’s evolving approach to digital trade governance is mutually constitutive. By selectively liberalizing in certain contexts while remaining conservative in others, China contributes to a more complex and less cohesive regional digital trade environment. China’s emphasis on standard-setting efforts and security considerations introduces additional complexities to the regime complex, potentially impeding the development of comprehensive governance regimes for digital trade in the region.

This article analyzes the development of paradiplomatic relations between subnational governments in China and Sweden. The empirical material comprises official documents, media reports, and interviews, and correspondence with local decision makers. Following steady growth in the 1990s and 2000s, the number of paradiplomatic agreements between the two countries declined dramatically at the end of the 2010s. To our knowledge, this extensive “local decoupling” is unprecedented, at least in the history of modern paradiplomacy between Europe and China. The decline can primarily be explained by three interrelated factors: worsening bilateral relations between Sweden and China, growing Swedish concern about the human rights situation in China, and the lack of activity in some of the cooperation projects. Rather than pursuing goals such as peacebuilding and economic benefit, generally described as the main drivers behind local governments’ international activities, several subnational governments in Sweden deemed it appropriate to terminate cooperation with their Chinese counterparts due to other concerns. This development demonstrates the usefulness of a more constructivist perspective of paradiplomacy.

Uzbekistan has the potential to become a regional hub linking Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe. In order to inform the implementation of Uzbekistan’s Strategy for the Development of the Transport System, a triangulated research approach was followed to develop a spatially and commodity-level freight flow model for the country. The model outputs highlight that freight flow distribution is heavily skewed towards the East, that the country has significant exposure to freight risks beyond the borders due to the inordinate long distances of cross-border flows, and that demand for transport, and logistics costs, are high relative to gross domestic product. Transport policy, infrastructure development and the role of transport and logistics in development planning should therefore be prioritised as a strategic input into economic growth and development success, including the intelligence that enables these activities. There seem to be opportunities for domestic and regional consolidation, which can lead to the improved use of rail and intermodal solutions and support the development of effective special economic zones. These outputs can be refined with access to more detailed data.

for organising the Special Issue project on 'Asia in Flux: Network Power, New Regionalism, and Global Development' and for considering our submission. We would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful comments. The original article has been corrected.

Over 10,000 South Korean nurses were sent to West Germany in the 11-year period between 1965 and 1976. It is known that they were dispatched because of South Korea’s need for capital and expertise after the Korean War (1950–1953). To assist in this endeavor, West Germany helped South Korea through development support (educational aid). However, Korean nurses were not simply trainees since they had received a proper education and qualifications. Thus, this “educational aid” could critically be termed little more than “labor trade” because the highly educated nurses were forced to take work with lower wages than their background warranted.

In line with the global trend toward electrification, the focus of recent Chinese investment in Europe has shifted to the field of electric vehicles. The largest and most controversial investment is Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited’s (CATL) battery factory in Hungary, following its initial success in Germany. Although the Hungarian national government and local authorities unanimously supported this mega gigafactory, it has provoked heated disputes among opposition parties, experts, and local communities. Drawing on over 900 news articles related to CATL published between April 2022 and February 2024, this study examines how CATL’s investment is portrayed in the Hungarian media. Using content analysis, I analyzed the overall sentiments of the CATL project by divergent media outlets with varied political orientations. Using narrative analysis, I further investigated how narratives in the Hungarian media consolidate the support and opposition to the CATL project. The findings shed light on the controversial debate over the case of CATL in Hungary and offer significant implications for Hungary and other integrated peripheral countries competing for foreign battery-related investments. Moreover, the findings suggest the importance of implementing locally tailored corporate social responsibility initiatives to ensure the successful and long-term development of Chinese investments in the host country.