Gunter Heiduk is Professor of International Economics at Duisburg-Essen Univerity, Germany, and Director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Research Institute. He has been a visiting Professor at leading Chinese and Japanese universities. He has published 20 books and more than 40 articles in academic journals. Professor Heiduk initiated the East Asian Studies Programme at Duisburg University and founded the Schriftenreihe zur Ostasien-Forschung journal where he is now co-editor.