China trade: The 'Dalai Lama Effect'

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama gestures during his meeting with 6000 people gathered to see him in Poland on September 22. German researchers found that when heads of state meet with the exiled spiritual leader, exports to China drop
Countries whose top leadership meet with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, lose on average 8.1 percent in exports to China in the two years following the meeting, according to a recent study. Called the "Dalai Lama Effect," the study by the University of Gottingen in Germany found the negative impact on exports began when President Hu Jintao took office in 2002.
The study is the first empirical analysis demonstrating the economic consequence of such meetings. Machinery and transportation equipment exports suffered the most consistent negative impact, following meetings with the 14th Dalai Lama, according to study authors Andreas Fuchs and Nils-Hendrik Klann.
"We wanted to find out the impact of the rising role of China in the world ... to find out what we should expect of China's role in the world in the coming years," researcher Fuchs told CNN. "It is clear that politics has played a huge role in China's commercial relationships."
Read More:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/11/04/dalai.lama.trade.china/index.html