China-kazakhstan Horgos International Center For Boundary Cooperation:Compa Rative Analysis Of Policies

The thesis studies the policies of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan regarding development of Horgos International Center for Boundary Cooperation,located on the border area of two countries.Since establishment in 2004,the countries designed several packages of policies to turn bilateral project into reality.Over the years along with positive achievements,ICBC has not still been fully implemented.Hence,this research aims at identification of the reasons behind development impediments through policies analysis.This study first introduces background information on Horgos International Center for Boundary Cooperation and gives an overview on recent development situation,unveiling some positive achievements and development constraints.Second chapter provides literature review.It consists of four sections,including theoretical frameworks of international financial institutions,outlook on previous academic papers on different aspects of special economic zones,as well as separate specific researches and articles about the thesis topic.Third chapter outlines methodology used for data collection and data analysis.Since this research discusses the policies,the author conducted documentary review first.Then analyzed information from literature review and interview to understand development situation and implications of measures taken by two countries.Fourth chapter studies specific policies designed by China.It outlines four main packages,including special policies on ICBC development,its adjacent area,Horgos and Kashi economic and development zone as well as financial measures.The chapter ends with explanations of achieved results.Fifth chapter conducts an analogical study regarding policies in Kazakhstan.It was discovered that the country along with some constraints in applied incentive packages experience supranational limitations.Specifically,membership of Kazakhstan in the Eurasian Economic Union requires the country primarily abide legislation of the regional organization in terms of international trade,hence creating new challenges for ICBC development.Sixth chapter provides a comparison analysis,consisting of three main sections.The first outlines a framework for an analysis in accordance with guidelines of major international financial institutions and verifies the correspondence of adopted policies with necessary variables.The second identifies problems and challenges based on qualitative data analysis of literature review and interview.And the last section discusses considerations on policies improvement,which may give some ideas to overcome existing impediments.Finally,the thesis reaches the conclusion that China and Kazakhstan over the years designed a number of different packages of policies to implement mutually beneficial project.To date ICBC is under operation hosting thousands of businesses and visitors.At the same time the study unveils serious problems in its development,especially in Kazakhstan side,which need to be addressed to ensure further sustainable,long-term and efficient functioning of Horgos International Center for Boundary Cooperation.