Should Community College increase its tuition fee Essay

Should Community College increase its tuition fee - Essay Example Some of the key players associated with the issue of college fee increment include the institution, the taxpayers, the government and students. Measures put in place by various governments has weakened the ability of most institutions to produce the required results to both taxpayers and students. In most cases, colleges have lost the ability to attain the required student capacity. The other stakeholders being the institutions stakeholders and students also play a significant role in ensuring that the cost accrued per completion of one’s learning is favorable and the money does not attract higher taxations. Typically, taxpayers put in an average of $56000 per degree expecting an average amount return of almost twice the initial investment. The unavailability of sufficient fund allocation acts as a diminishing factor since it only allows a limited number of students to attain education given the tough economic outlook. Community college education also spurs opportunity for mobility integration which is essential since it reduces the dependency rate of students on their parents. Moreover, community colleges effectively rely on government funding so as to get their resources therefore making them non-profitable and they end up having the highest enrollments. Implementing implement decisions that will ensure a reduction of community college tuition fees is rather important in fostering improved achievement amongst colleges. Through policy implementations, the public policies should always aim at increasing resource allocation to community colleges and cutting down on expenditure. The policies are significant in ensuring a reduction on the cost of education while enhancing strengths of community colleges in performing its initial mandate which is to serve students in the community. Community colleges can introduce short term courses to increase efficiency. This will significantly assist some students

Innovation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Innovation management - Essay Example The new age of media has been cannibalizing the TV business. It is agreed that people are also watching a lot of content over the web but the charm and the thing about watching your favorite broadcasts with convenience at a desired time and location still holds good. Along with the digital challenge and the advent of innumerable choices in terms of content to be viewed has also let the viewers get spoilt for choice. Along with this, the social networking sites have also started getting connected to the viewership patterns where tweets and discussions on social networking sites lead towards the rise of real time viewership for shows â€Å"An Essay: Innovation Models For The Digital Age.†. The following report is a development of a new innovation of within the television industry for Samsung Group. The paper proposes a remote free television that shall be controlled by voice, gestures and expressions of the user. The report brings out a comprehensive study of development, launch, implementation and execution of the desired product into the marketplace. Samsung and its success has been recognised the world over through the last decade. The South Korean company has been synonymous with being the world leader in terms of televisions production and mobile phone technology. The company has also been ranked among the world third most innovating firm by the Fast Company Magazine. The company has grown over the years to become the global leader in consumer electronics from being a local industrial player in its home country. The conglomerate is involved into a number of businesses from apparels to foods and consumer electronics. It has about 19 listed companies under the Korean Exchange and employs about 427,000 people as of 2013 data (â€Å"About Samsung†). Samsung Electronics, the most revered technology company had launched its 3D television in March 2010. It was the pioneer in the 3D vision technology in its television sets. With this innovation, the

Question and Answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Question and Answers - Essay Example With regard to ownership, a business can be owned by one individual, a small group of individuals and it can be owned by the public at large as a publically traded company. For privately owned companies, the main advantage is control since these companies do not have to keep the wishes of the shareholders in mind while making large business decisions. Additionally, the profits earned by them are taken by the owners and not divided amongst the shareholders. However, they may not have access to large amounts of capital which publicly owned companies can generate from issuing shares. Publicly owned companies also have the advantage of limited liability in case the business fails or the company hits the ground regarding the investments made by the company. The primary source of capital for privately owned businesses are investors such as venture capital companies, individual investors and banks which give out loans to privately owned company. For companies under a partnership, several individuals may bring their assets together and use that as a capital base for the company. The relationship between a business and its investors may be defined by ownership where the profits made by the company are owned by the investors until their liability has been paid up. The two most important factors which must be understood well before a business is started are the business plans and the value chain which the business seeks to provide to its clients. In the first instance, the business plan shows investors and company owners the method by which the company plans to make money over a period of time. The value chain shows the process by which the company will deliver a certain value to the customers and how the customers will reward the value given to them with money that can be used by the company. Once these elements are understood, it becomes easy to see if the

The Universal Subordination Of Women To Men Essay

The Universal Subordination Of Women To Men - Essay Example Female subordination is universal in that it transcends every type of social and economic arrangement in societies of every degree of complexity. Ortner argues that the cultural logic behind the assumption of female inferiority is so highly persuasive that people inevitably subscribe to it. For example, in China, the ideology of Taoism equates both yin (the female principle) and yang (the male principle). The opposition or the interaction and alteration of these two forces influence all the phenomena in the universe. Based on this principle, one would assume that males and females are universally valued in the ideology of Chinese culture. However, looking at the social structure, one observes the strongly emphasized patrilineal descent principle, advocating the importance of sons and the absolute authority of fathers in the family. Thus, we can conclude that China is the archetypical patriarchal society (Ortner, 1974, P.69). Considering the actual roles played, power and influence wielded, and the material contributions made by women in Chinese society, which are a one would observe that women are allotted a high status in the system. For instance, the goddess Kuan Yin is the prominent deity, in terms of worship and depiction, in Chinese Buddhism. Thus, in reference to goddess-worshiping in China, like most prehistoric and early historical societies, is a form of matriarchy. Ortner asserts that in her investigation of cultures, she found women to be subordinate to men in every known society. For example, among the matrilineal Crow society, women had highly honorific offices in the Sun Dance. They could become directors of the Tobacco Ceremony and played a more conspicuous part in it than men. They could sometimes play hostess in the Cooked Meet Festival, and were not

SWOT Analysis for CH2M Hill Strengths Essay Example for Free

SWOT Analysis for CH2M Hill Strengths Essay CH2M Hill has many strengths within the company; some of which will be identified in this section. CH2M Hill is a well established brand name with lots of successful Government projects and private projects including the Program Management of the Olympic venues for the 2012 London Olympics. The company has a well defined code of ethics, outlined in â€Å"Jim’s Little Yellow Book†, that each employee should follow and an anonymous hotline, The Guideline, to notify the company of observed ethics violations. CH2M Hill is employee owned through an internal common stock market, giving the employees buy-in into policies and procedures (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). The company has a diversified revenue stream utilizing various areas of expertise in several engineering aspects. CH2M Hill offers full-service capabilities in various business components, among three key operating divisions, Water, Energy Facilities; Government, Environment Infrastructure; and International. Business groups served include: Water; Transportation; Operations and Maintenance; Government Facilities and Infrastructure; Nuclear; Environmental; Energy and Chemicals; Power; and Industrial and Advanced Technology. CH2M Hill developed, upholds and brings out its own process for organization projects for clients, called the CH2M HILL Project Delivery System. This system is such a comprehensive proven system that other firms have engaged CH2M Hill for training and a book has been publish by the firm on the process (Free SWOT Analysis, 2013). Weaknesses Along with its strengths, CH2M Hill also has weaknesses that it needs to overcome to maintain its level of success. The company is rather large and occupies many offices around the world making it difficult to enforce the code of ethics it is so known for in the industries it serves. CH2M Hill has difficulty ensuring compliance to regulations while performing work in so many different states and countries, opening it up to fines and lawsuits. The firm has acquired and merged with other companies to increase its diversity and market position but in turn has had troubles ensuring that these new acquisitions conform to regular practices (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). With the joint ventures CH2M Hill has entered into has come the inability to determine the exact effectiveness of that division where  failure will lead to recognized losses. The firm’s high tech nature and complete reliance on computers and systems makes it vulnerable to financial losses and reputation loss if any of their networks or systems were to fail. CH2M Hill has an employment disadvantage as its existing work force continues to get older every year due to a declining incoming work force and its inability to attract or hire younger professional personnel (Wikidot, n.d.). Opportunities The external market and business factors have created opportunities for CH2M Hill. As other countries develop their sustainable energy futures, there is great opportunity to work in these countries in energy development, one of the main business groups of CH2M Hill. During the course of projects CH2M Hill employees work alongside many subcontractors who could be acquired in the future so that the firm could offer whole project delivery. CH2M Hill‘s management is heavily involved in corporate responsibility activities that can increase the public view of the company (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). The cost leadership that CH2M Hill enjoys as its market strategy has positioned it in the market, enabling it to become the most documented name in the business. This provides an opening for attracting new clients to its web of customers (Free SWOT Analysis, 2013). As developing countries or developed countries look to upgrade their deteriorating infrastructures, CH2M Hill who is known for resource and infrastructure management will have a greater potential client pool. CH2M Hill who has succeeded in form their own 100% secured cloud could offer rentable cloud computing networks for small companies. C2HM Hill has vast experience in the asset management business and could offer this skill to others in North America. Although CH2M Hill has much experience in water management, they tend to work in smaller markets with the global water shortage the larger markets, such as China, are becoming more attractive. CH2M Hill could utilize its vast experience and expertise in renewable energy to gain new projects as the global market demand for cleaner energy resources increases. In addition to operational and maintenance aid in this increasing energy segment CH2M Hill could offer facilities management consultation to these plants (Wikidot, n.d.). Threats Threats to CH2M Hill will come from many different sources; we will discuss some of them below. A declining global economy with less money to invest in infrastructure and private projects will affect the amount of jobs to bid on. Even when there are jobs to bid competitors responding to requests for quotes and proposals can under bid and win projects over CH2M Hill (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). When jobs are won the unpredictable economic cycles could result in the failure of clients to pay their fees to CH2M Hill. To win certain jobs CH2M Hill must rely on subcontractors and suppliers opening them up to any issues that company may have. Unstable economic and industry pricing could lead to losses especially in fixed price contracts. Tightening of and ever changing environmental regulations can make it hard for CH2M Hill to keep up with the changes (BUS100mottariano, n.d.). With CH2M Hills many government projects changes in and functions of government spending priorities can affecting future revenues and even contract risk of termination. Being a part of the consumer industry and dealing with the consumption of fast moving consumer goods, CH2M Hill is highly affected by market trends worldwide. CH2M Hill suffers from the same employment that all North American companies face with the shrinking of the qualified labor force. International business and market risks relating to security corruption, weather and governmental policies threaten projects that CH2M Hill tries to win (Wikidot, n.d.). References BUS100mottariano. (n.d.). SWOT analysis. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/bus100mottariano/home/swot-analysis Free SWOT Analysis. (2013). SWOT Analysis on CH2M Hill. Retrieved from http://www.freeswotanalysis.com/construction/596-swot-analysis-on-ch2m-hill.html Wikidot. (n.d.). CH2MHill Business Model. Retrieved from http://civ1299bmreview.wikidot.com/ Wikidot. (n.d.). CIV1299 intermin report. Retrieved from http://interimreport.wikidot.com/#toc4

Business Plan For Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop Marketing Essay

Business Plan For Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop Marketing Essay Hakuna Matata coffee shop is managed by a team of three individuals. It is a joint of each persons contribution and different ideas and skills which we have expressed our best opinions and interest to achieve the roles of Hakuna Matata. This is a business pursued by three individuals executing the opportunity of opening a coffee shop right in the city centre and to best coffee sellers in the city, we have got the opportunity to be not only the best coffee sellers but also to gain a market share and create market segment and most of all to build a customer relation, the customer could either be a walk in customer or a corporate customer. The major roles of Hakuna Matata are to become the best and most popular coffee shop in the area serving at least five hundred customers daily. The companys objective is to turn profits for every month of operations and maintain a gross profit margin of 60%. Hakuna Matata is specialized in coffee and other value added service is that it provides other beverages like various types of juices and sodas, milk, tea and distilled water bottles and snacks, as coffee would certainly be more attractive with chocolate cookies and some crackers to enjoy the coffee. Each member of the team contributed evenly towards the completion of the business plan. Grace Busara researched on the management, Halimafilsan researched on the financial plan while I researched more on the marketing plan for the business plan. There are a lot of different things that could help the coffee shop be more successful that is by efficient team work within the 3 of us, including our hired staff, these are the waiters and the security guard, which all play their roles, and are part of the coffee shop. Where the team runs smoothly, we make sure that that every process is been taken charge to work efficiently, that is by assigning the tasks equally, so that there is all equal inputting to the coffee shop. It is efficient to do work as a team than as an individual as team work comes up with different ideas and views; we get to know each other more, which could lead us to the success of our coffee shop. By team work the tasks are accomplished efficiently. PROCESS OF IDEA INITIATION Through our research we discovered that there are very few coffee shops in the market, most of which subscribe to the low cost leadership strategy, therefore, Hakuna Matata as an opportunity in the market and by using differentiation strategy it could gain a market share and create its market segment and build a strong customer base. There are tremendous interest in entrepreneurship in Tanzania, inspire of the country being a third world country; we managed to compile the resources needed for an entrepreneurship. We came up with three ideas of small scale business enterprise which would be booming in Tanzania for at least the next five years. The idea of coming up with a business of coffee shop was accepted by very all three members of the team, that is by considering all the positive factors of opening a coffee shop in the city which includes the opportunity which from our research we discovered that there are very less coffee shops in Dar es salaam city and in the market which subscribes to the low cost leadership strategy , where Hakuna Matata can get a chance to use the differentiation strategy whereby we can have an opportunity to gain a market share and also create market segment and build a strong customer base. The idea of a coffee shop business plan came up after a long thinking and analyzing the ideas and views of other proposed business plans which was contributed by the team members. The structure of the business is quickly evolved, like the experiences in the commercial market, that knows how many coffee shops exist in the city and the coffee shops surrounded near by our coffee shop location. It takes much more to operate a coffee shop as such a product, the idea of selling coffee as a beverage, we have to be able to continuously offer what customers are looking for, and therefore we should consider that there is no shortage of consumers for the coffee beverage, as there less coffee shops surrounded within the area. After a lot of brainstorming and doing research of opening a venture in a country like Tanzania, we had come up with several ideas in which we had three best choices, these are the coffee shop, garbage collection and event management planning, all these three ventures seemed interesting to us, but we found that the coffee shop would me more attractive the market. INDUSTRY AND COMPETITIVE The position of Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop fills in the market place, which will be on reason for its success; the coffee shops aim is to accomplish its target by being the best coffee sellers in the city, and to attract every customer by our coffee by providing the best coffee and providing good customer services. The position of Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop will carve out for itself in the market, as it will be opened the whole day till evening, our target customers will be all the surroundings offices, these are The Bank Of Tanzania, National Bank Of Commerce, Azania Bank Limited, FBME Bank Limited, CRDB Bank limited and many other banks surrounding our coffee shop, including also the walking customers and other offices surrounding the location of the coffee shop. Looking at the grid, Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop is the only concept which feels good about its role pf selling and preparing the best coffee in the city, which captures the families and children and all types of genders and ages. It also captures the advantage of relatively short preparation time, and coffee is served. Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop is well positioned to take advantage of the significant opportunities by expanding the industry of providing coffee beverages. The coffee consumption on the rise is dependent on the agricultural sector, whereby there are a lot of coffee farmers but a few coffee beverage sellers in the market, thus Hakuna Matatas bargaining power is high and thus it can acquire large volumes at a low price and the culture of drinking coffee has always been there in the market for example the local vendors who walk around with coffee in a kettle. Hakuna Matatas market is within the metropolitan area whereby the number of consumers is substantially high. Since Tanzania is a tropical area and the need for cols drinks is necessary, thus Hakuna Matata will make its beverages both cold and hot as Dar es salaam city is has a moderate temperature above 28 degrees centigrade, therefore various types of other beverages will be offered, such as soda, tea, distilled bottle water, tea, milk and different flavors of juices. In this same segment the customers are further divided into female consumer who prefer milk tea and coffee which is not strong while the male clients prefer black coffee or coffee that is very strong. Hakuna Matata is targeting two main customers, one is the fixed customers which consists of the office workers, shop keepers, college and university students, whereby this group is the most liquid and consume large amounts of coffee per day, since our fixed consumers have limited time, Hakuna Matata will have store the coffee in the privately owned utensils which can will make it easier to the customers to leave with them as take away. The second target groups are the mobile consumers, these are the daily and new consumers, this group consists of individual who do not have a fixed location such as shoppers, pedestrians, walk in customers and many more. Our competitors are classified into two categories, that is the first priority competitors and second priority competitors, the first priority competitors are the ones which we have used the differentiation strategy, this includes serving coffee at the best quality level. The second priority customers are using the low cost and no frill strategy to gain a market share; this includes the local coffee makers and the street vendors in the city. Currently the completion for coffee as a beverage amongst coffee sellers is not fierce, whereby the seller can enter and leave the market rapidly. Coffee beverage selling is a relatively new industry in Tanzania, as it is not in the culture of Tanzania compared to tea, therefore the industry is in the state of flux, with less market leaders and nationally known providers or widely recognized brands as the other coffee sellers provide coffee which does not meet the taster and the requirements of the consumers. PRESENTATION EXPERIENCEANALYSIS Presetting a business plan helps us and the user to identify the objective of the business and analyze it in a critical manner; it helps us to focus in the feasibility of the business and to identify the chances of growth and success. It also enables to manage the business too accordingly and with a positive attitude. The presentation of the business plan is a way of communicating with your business which defines the purpose and the competition of the business and the management; it identifies the intention of creating a business into reality. it is important to present a business plans as it is useful if we are applying for a bank loan to fund our coffee shop, or trying to get an investor who can come and invest in our coffee shop, this could either be our friends and relatives or the government. The business plan presentation is useful if we are fund raising in general. No one will give us money nor fund as we have not planned your business plan positively as the business plan consists of how much money we need and for what purposes of the business, the marketing plan, the sales strategies, the profit projection. A business plan guides us on how we can raise capital and gives us a road map so we should know where the business is building up and growing. By presenting the business plan it is easy to identify the strength of the coffee shop business, as the demand for coffee increases daily due to our location which is in the city centre, this will also enable us to know who our customers are. We also noticed that coffee beverage is a push product as Tanzania does not have the culture of drinking coffee, though our target customers are mainly, the corporate offices, banks and other large organizations in the city, as coffee could become seasonal due to the weather in Dar es salaam which is humid through out the year. We also fear new entrants in the coffee market which could deploy our venture, although we have fewer competitors. It is very important to plan the business before executing it to reality, this will make us know how the business is going to survive and grow within the specific time, a business without a plan would certainly fail in a short period of time, hence it also enables us to achieve our targets and business goals. ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO Our start up capital is 20 million Tanzania shillings, where each member has contributed 5 million and another 5 million will be taken from FBME Bank limited as a loan. Our assumptions are that we assume a slow growth without recession taking place in Tanzania, we assume that there will be no unforeseen changes in the public health perceptions about our coffee and beverages that we offer to the consumers, we also assume that our finances are going to be sufficient to maintain our projected financial plan and we also assume that it will continue to grow as production increases. Besides coffee shop we also had different ideas on creating a small scale enterprise, researched the market and the environment surrounding us, whereby a lot of brain storming was done by all the three members of the group and came up with three different scenarios which we could create business plans were coffee shop business plan, event management business plan and garbage collection business plan, whereby our last and final choice was the coffee shop business plan. One of the ideas was to open a garbage collection, we researched and compiled the information which was to target the commercial and residential market, we came to know that the competitors are going to be low but the legal and financial requirements will not be able to cop up with our minimum amount of our startup capital. We came to know that there is a political risk in this business as the ministry of health had to approve the standard of our venture. We had come up with three different ideas amongst the coffee shop and garbage collection; we also had done our research on event management. From our research we learnt that event management planning will need a small start up capital and even the costs would be low, the marketing would be much more easier, planning the financials was depending on the event, being three of us it would be difficult to run an event, where a large labor force is required for this venture in order for this business to run well and the even to be successful, due to the large labor turnover, as since it is a new business we would be able to pay our staff. Event management being a high profit margin industry, as everyone would likes celebrations, and a well organized event the venture is highly profitable. This venture requires professional skills and high degree of energy for the execution of the event, it also requires communication, strong networking to be known in the market, excellent public relation is very important and we all three lack experience in events as we do not expertise art and creation of the venues. This two mentioned scenarios, disapproved us from choosing to open the ventures, therefore we choose coffee shop as a venture, as we all had the passion of selling coffee and making coffee in different methods and styles and from our knowledge and experience we finally concluded by opening the coffee shop in the city centre. USEFULNESS OF A BUSINESS PLAN As time passes the business develops. The business plan is a very useful and strategic tool which enables the company to achieve its target and goals within a given period of time, business plans are believed to be attainable if followed accordingly and by planning to reach the targets. The business plan compromises the plan on how to achieve the goals and targets including the management team, the usefulness of the business plan are that it includes the financial plans indicating the profit margin for each year respectively. It also shows the break even analysis. The business plan includes the marketing plan, this enables on how our coffee shop will be useful to the population surrounding the shop The financial plan section is the most important part of the business plan which shows how the ideas are viable and it is a key component in determining wither the business plan is going to be able to attract any investment in the planning of the coffee shop. The financial plan section compromises of financial statements which are divided into the income statement, the cash flow projection and a balance sheet including a brief explanation and analysis of each statement, therefore, the financial plan guides the growth and development of the coffee shop. When starting a venture, seeking additional capital for the coffee shop and setting new business process incase of the coffee shop fails to run, we need to write a plan detailing on how we will mange the resources and requirements which also includes the marketing decisions, the financial projections, a trend of the production demands and also personal needs. The plan reflects on three main constituencies that is the customer, the investor and the producer. A business plan has to be presentable to convince the venture capitalist, which should consists of a number of related issues that relate to the factors such as the critical success of the coffee shop, the human factor, the opportunity, the context and the possibilities of risk and reward, by analyzing these issues a business plan illustrates how the enterprise will seize the opportunity to enter the market and how its stand out amongst its competitors and how it plans to maintain a continuing growth trend. The investor or the per son who would be interested in captivating the coffee ship should see the level of detail before making any financial decision to the new coffee shop. OTHER AREAS For a business plan to be successful and profitable we clearly need to understand the firms customers and strength and completion in the market, it is the owners and shareholders who have to understand the behaviors of the customers and the strength and weaknesses. We should also have the ability to foresight and plan the future of Hakuna Matata Coffee Shop and its future expansion strategies. When it comes to the expansion of the coffee shop we need to know the financial plan which will enable us to how the coffee shop is growing. In order to operate the coffee shop more effectively we will have to manage the bargaining power of the suppliers and to manage the bills and also customer complains, as we need to take this matter into consideration in a calm manner and not to chase away the consumers. We have to show the consumers that we not only serve the best coffee but also our services are to a high standard of customer expectation.

Threat To India Or Economic Need Of China

Threat To India Or Economic Need Of China I have always thought that it is important, even essential, that these two countries of Asia, India and China, should have friendly and, as far as possible co-operative relations. It would be a tragedy, not only for India, and possibly for China, but for Asia and the whole world, if they develop some kind of permanent hostility  [1]   Jawahar Lal Nehru India and China have laid the ghost of the 1962 war to rest, and have turned their faces to the future. Prem Shankar Jha INTRODUCTION For more than 60 years, Pakistan and India and have been arguing and periodically coming to blows over one of the most beautiful places in the world i.e. Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK). India, Pakistan and China are in possession of various parts of Jammu Kashmir. China-Pakistan relations have always been a matter of concern for India, however due to the increased involvement of China in POK the matter has worsened further. With presence of an estimated 11,000 soldiers of the Peoples Liberation Army in POK, one can confidently state about the growing foot-prints of China in POK  [2]  . This prompted views among many Indian military and political leaders and journalists that Islamabad is handing over the de-facto control of the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region of POK to China. Further it is believed that as the years proceed, Pakistan will emerge as an instrument of Chinas force projection into South Asia.  [3]   With this as background, it is imperative to examine and understand Chinas interests and strategy in POK as these developments hold large significance for Indias security interests. INDIA CHINA RELATIONS India and China are two of the oldest civilizations of the world and in spite of the present economic, political and military environment and compulsions, these two countries have a long history of friendly relations. However, since 1913-14 Shimla Conference, the Sino-Indian border as part of the issue of Tibets status has been a matter of dispute in relations between the two countries and has resulted in military conflicts. Presently the renewed tensions between the two countries have been dominating diplomacy with issues like Chinas refusal of visa to a top Indian Army General and aggressive Chinese intrusions across the LAC. Pakistan Chinas strategic equation with Pakistan is another issue which is a hindrance to any meaningful improvement in Indias relations with China. China has been the biggest supplier of military hardware to Pakistan, some of which is made available to Kashmiri militants. The increasing involvement and presence of Chinese soldiers in POK has raised concerns in India. Economic A strategic partnership was announced by China and India in 2005 and both countries have in recent years successfully attempted to reignite diplomatic and economic ties and consequently, the two countries relations have become closer. Presently, China is Indias largest trading partner and has recently changed its stance on Indias bid seat at UNSC. This is viewed as beginning of a maturity period in Sino-Indian relations. CHINAS ECONOMIC GROWTH In 1949, Chinas economic system changed to a communist system and as Chinas contribution in world trade has grown; its importance to the international economy has also increased. China is the worlds second largest economy after the United States by purchasing power parity and is the worlds fastest-growing economy. Unequal Regional Development Deng Xiaoping, orchestrated Chinas reform and opening-up 30 years ago, once said that some areas must get rich before others.  [4]  This was due to the countrys massive scale, the economic development could not happen all at once across China. Planning and implementation of such an economy would take years, even decades and some areas would inevitably be developed before others and thus coastal regions of China were the best place to place to start, due to the natural advantage of access to Asian and overseas markets via the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea.  [5]  The two areas which benefited most from this economic strategy of China were the Yangtze River Delta region in the East and Pearl River Delta region in the South.  [6]   West China the New Economic Story Chinas unequal transportation system, combined with differences in the availability of resources (natural and human) and industrial infrastructure has resulted in large variations in the regional economies of China. Although Chinas coastal regions continue to develop, the initial boom has already slowed.  [7]  Furthermore, foreign investors are beginning to grow weary of the increasing costs of doing business in cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen.  [8]  Therefore, now both domestic and international businesses are looking towards the interior of the country, where overhead costs are lower. Chinas Western region will emerge as the most interesting economic development story of the coming decade. This Western region comprises of 28% of Chinas population and 70% of its landmass and presently it also accounts for 17% of the countrys GDP, but surely this is set to change for the better.  [9]   In 2001, the Chinese government implemented its Western Development Strategy also known as the Go West policy. The plan called for large infrastructure development in urban and rural areas. The main components of the strategy included the development of infrastructure (transport, hydropower plants, energy and telecommunications), enticement of foreign investment, increased efforts on ecological protection (such as reforestation), retention of talent flowing to richer provinces and promotion of education. The Western Development Bureau affiliated to the state, had released a list of 10 major projects in 2008, with a combined budget of 436 billion Yuan which included projects like, new railway lines connecting Guiyang and Guangzhou, Lanzhou and Chongqing, Kashgar and Hotan in Xinjiang; highways between Wanyuan and Dazhou in Sichuan Province, Shuikou and Duyun in Guizhou Province and airport expansion projects in Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian.  [10]  They also include building of hydropower stations, coal mines, gas and oil transmission lines and also public utilities projects in the western region. By the end of 2007, China had started 92 key construction projects in Western region, with a total investment of more than 1.3 trillion Yuan. The Big Western Line, also known as the South-North water transfer project, is another project being planned to be undertaken for diverting water from six rivers in Southwestern China to the dry areas of Northern China through a system of tunnels, reservoirs and rivers. A robust growth is already in place in the West, reaching 11.9% in the last year.   Over the past 10 years, the railway capacity has increased by 160%, Highway capacity by 280% and the energy capacity by 550%.  [11]  Fixed investment of West was 3,600 billion Yuan and per capita gross domestic product rose to 1,933 dollars per year in 2008, which is just 41.9% compared to the per capita GDP of East. In early July 2010, China announced fresh investments to the tune of 100 billion dollars for 23 infrastructure projects to promote rapid and healthy development of western areas.  [12]   CHINAS ECONOMIC SECURITY Chinas spectacular economic growth is largely responsible for its rising energy demands. While energy production in China sharply increased since 1980, consumption exceeded production by the end of the 1990s and the gap between consumption and production is continuing. Chinas natural gas supply is even more limited than oil. The IEA 2006, forecasts that Chinas oil import will increase five folds by 2030 from slightly less than 2 MMBD in 2002 to 10 MMBD, when imports will account for 80% of Chinas total oil needs. Moreover, as in the rest of Asia, China will become heavily dependent on the Persian Gulf (70% of oil by 2015) for future supplies and its oil will increasingly have to transit a series of vulnerable maritime choke points.  [13]  The constant and safe importation of oil has become a crucial issue in Chinas energy sector. SINO- PAK ECONOMIC NEXUS Gwadar Port Pakistan inaugurated its third deep sea port at Gwadar in 2005 and it became operational in 2008. Work for phase II, at estimated cost of US $ 932 million is in progress for building nine additional berths (including two oil terminals with capacity of 2, 00,000 DWT ships). Other then the economic and military advantages to Pakistan it is important to examine Chinas role and strategic interest in this project. It is widely claimed that there is Chinese interest in reaching the blue waters of Arabian Sea.  [14]  This is considered to be a strategic move by Chinese as they funded US $ 198 million (out of the total Phase I cost of US $ 248 million) and also provided 450 engineers onsite. Towards success of Chinas Go West policy, Gwadar provides access to a port at just 1500 km as compared to the Eastern ports at 3000 km for the products produced in Western China. Gwadar is the ideal transit corridor for China to import oil and gas from Iran and the Persian Gulf. It offers an alternative route which is safer and cheaper as compared to the Strait of Malacca, where China faces problems of piracy and is under US sphere of influence. In Oct 2010, Pakistan government also decided to build a connecting gas pipeline from Gwadar to Xinjiang, China.  [15]   Official sources confirm that an understanding has already developed at highest levels between Pakistan and China that the Gwadar port is to be taken from the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) and handed over to the Chinese. The port should have gone to the Chinese, who built it largely from their own investment, in the first place, says Baloch nationalist Rauf Khan Sasoli, who accuses former President Pervez Musharraf of giving it to the PSA to please his American masters.  [16]  This will result in not only transfer of power at the Gwadar port but will also allow Chinese to build Gwadar as tax-free industrial center, including oil and gas refineries and a network of roads and railways from Gwadar to China through the ancient silk route. An ambitious deal to build railways along the Khunjrab pass has already been signed between Pakistan.  [17]   There is another thought to this project where Gwadar is considered as the Naval base for the Chinese as part of its String of Pearls strategy and providing defence to its oil movement as part of energy security. However, China had always denied that Gwadar will be used by Chinese military. Pakistan occupied Kashmir The geopolitics amongst China, Pakistan and India has been under the influence of development in POK. The building of the Karakorum Highway proved to be a turning point and was instrumental in strengthening the Sino-Pakistan strategic relations. The Karakorum highway was constructed by Chinese engineers and was completed in 1986. It connects Chinas region of Xinjiang with Gilgit-Baltistan. China and Pakistan had signed a deal in 2006 to widen the Karakoram highway by almost 20 meters wherein China had promised US$ 350 million for the project and once the project is completed, the transport capacity of the strategically significant region will increase significantly which will facilitate Chinas free access to the oil-rich Gulf through the Pakistani port of  Gwadar.  [18]  Thus, it may be visualized that the Gwadar port will be an integral part of Chinas Foreign Trade route in future.   In return for Chinese assistance in the building the highway, Pakistan ceded the Trans-Karakorum Tract to China.  [19]  Since then, it has been a constant source of supply of arms, ammunition and nuclear material to Pakistan from China and other countries like North Korea. Apart from this, goods manufactured in China have crept into Pakistan on a massive scale due to this highway. The Sino-Pak collaboration in hydro-power projects in the POK region including controversial Diamer Bhasha Dam on the Indus River is also a matter of concern for India. During Zardaris visit to China in 2009, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on construction of a hydro-power station at Bunji, in the Astore district of POK, with the agreement to construct the hydro power project (7000 MW) on build, operate and transfer basis, which means that all the investment ($ 6-7 billion) will be made by Chinese entrepreneurs.  [20]  Further, there were agreements for cooperation in fisheries, agriculture, education, dams and investment. China has contributed substantially to the rehabilitation and rebuilding projects in POK after the devastating earthquake of Oct 2005. These investments have helped China strengthen its control over POK. China has also encashed on the deprivation and alienation of people in POK both at political and social level. The Karakorum highway has helped in providing the necessary support during the rebuilding and trading opportunities for people of POK. It has been reported that of an estimated 7,000 to 11,000 soldiers of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army are in POK. Many of the PLA soldiers entering Gilgit-Baltistan are expected to work on the railroad and some are extending the Karakoram Highway, others are working on dams, expressways and other projects. In a way, these developments in POK brings out that, since Pakistan Army is unable to handle multiple conflicts, thus it apparently gave the Chinese army de facto control over Gilgit and Baltistan regions. For China, it is a win-win situation, as it stands to gain unfettered road and rail access to the Middle East through Pakistan.  [21]  The map of karakorum highway is shown below for better appricaition of the situation and its impoartance for Western Chinas economic growth. Karakoram Highway Map Karakorum Highway AN ALTERNATE VIEW TO INDO-CHINA RELATIONS China has finally moved away from Deng Xiaopings principle of hide your strength, bide your time so as to adopt a more proactive role in international affairs. The transformation that China is currently undergoing is clearly visible. Its changes in the socio-political and legal conditions confirm that the regime has changed away from the label of authoritarianism. The course of making decisions and strategy has slowly become decentralised and actors like media, think tanks, academic institutes/ university and voluntary associations and interest groups constitute major linkages between the government, its mechanism and the governed.  [22]   Visit of the Indian External Affairs Minister to China in 1999 marked the resumption of high-level dialogue. The joint declaration signed during the visit of Indian Prime Minister to China in June 2003 stated that China was not a threat to India.  [23]  Special representatives were appointed by the China and India in order to provide thrust to border negotiations. India also acknowledged Chinas sovereignty over Tibet and pledged not to allow anti-China political activities in India. On its part, China had acknowledged Indias 1975 annexation of the former monarchy of Sikkim and later rectified official maps to include Sikkim as part of India.  [24]  India and China are in the second stage of exploring the framework of a final package settlement covering all aspects of the India-China boundary dispute, which will be followed by the final stage of delineation and demarcation of boundary.  [25]   Convergence of Interests India and China have found substantial convergence of interests at the international level wherein they both share similar concerns about the growing international dominance of the US, the threat of terrorism disguised as religious and ethnic movements and the need to accord primacy to economic development. Both nations also favour more democratic international economic regimes.  [26]  They have strongly resisted efforts by the US and other developed nations to link global trade to labour and environmental standards. China and India put forward a joint Sino-Indian position in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and International trade negotiations. Chinas Neutrality Towards Indo- Pak Relations There has been a subtle shift in Beijings stance on Pakistan vis-à  -vis India. Chinas neutral position during the Kargil conflict, during Indo-Pak crisis following the terrorist attack on the Indias Parliament and during Mumbai terrorist attack is seen as sincere attempts of Chinas to improve ties. Towards Chinas attempts to project itself as a responsible regional player, it is supporting peace and anti-terrorist efforts in South Asia by cooperating with the India and US. China is also seen to be instrumental in encouraging Pakistan to negotiate with India by using its linfluence over Pakistan. On, 02 Dec 1996, when Jiang Zemin famously advised the Pakistani senators to set aside the Kashmir problem and improve their relationship with India, he thereby decisively distanced China from the Kashmir imbroglio.  [27]   Bilateral Trade As India and China have found a distinct convergence of their interests on world stage, they have used it to strengthen their bilateral relations on social, military and economic front. Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs government had made it clear that it favoured closer ties with China and would continue to work towards improving and strengthening bilateral relations with China. Among the most encouraging developments in India-China ties is the rapid increase in bilateral trade. A few years ago, India Inc had a fear of being swamped by Chinese imports, whereas today, it is estimated that the bilateral trade between the two countries will grow by 20 per cent to reach beyond $60 billion in 2010-11 from the present US $ 50 billion. Political Initiatives Chinese premier Wen Jiabao told Manmohan Singh during the Indian Prime Ministers visit to China in Jan 2008, that there was enough space for China and India and the two leaders resolve to promote building of a harmonious world of durable peace and common prosperity through developing the Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity between the two countries. China and India also cemented a shared vision for the 21st century by agreeing to raise the annual volume of bilateral trade to $ 60 billion by 2010 and to play role in transforming Asia and the World. In 2009, China and India witnessed frequent high-level interactions. Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) summits in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Premier Wen Jiabao interacted with Manmohan Singh at the East Asia Summit in Thailand and the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.  [28]   CHINAS PRESENCE IN PAKISTAN NOT A THREAT TO INDIA China and India know that any conflict would have devastating effect on both countries, because of the nuclear threat and thus the ability to co-operate and solve disputes through diplomacy is in the interest of both countries. India is continuing to improve its relations with China on the convergence of interests that the two nations have achieved in recent years. In respect to Indo-Chinese cooperation it is noted that while they are rivals, they are not enemies and that they knew how to work together with common interests in mind which is exemplified by their burgeoning trade relationship and the potential to work together on a number of key issues, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, global trade and climate change.  [29]   China is presently busy in Xinjiang region trying to calm the Uighur separatist movement, it is trying its best to hold Tibet, the military intervention in Taiwan is now a possibility and war of words with Vietnam has already started. Importantly, Indias relations with China are improving with improved bilateral trade, increased political initiatives and military co-operations. Thus, having studied the Chinese need and strategy for development of its Western region, the importance of Gwadar port and POK for the western region and Chinas energy security concerns, it can be confidently stressed that Chinas presence in Pakistan is not a threat to India but is the economic need of China.