Integration Key to Asia's Sustained Economic Recovery

THE Asian economy is projected to sustain recovery,and its annual growth rate may exceed 6.5 percent this year,as integration in regional trade strengthens,according to a key report is-sued on April 18. The COVID-19 pandemic will be the main factor directly affecting the eco-nomic activities in Asia,but the value chain is converging to China,thanks to the advanced regional integration of trade in goods and services,according to the flagship report of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021.The forum opened on April 18 in Boao,a coastal town in south Chinas Hainan Province.     

充分发挥中国—东盟博览会作用

中国—东盟博览会已成功连办六届,促进了中国与东盟的产业合作。但中国和东盟的产业合作目前仍处于起步阶段,要共同发展区域经济,加强产业合作,必须创建更好的推动机制和合作平台。中国—东盟博览会应加强相应的展品类别设置、展商邀请、专业观众组织等改革,搭建更好的产业合作论坛,建立日常贸易数据库等,达到产业合作与博览会互利共赢。     

Multiscale and Multimechanisms of Regional Inequality in China: Implications for regional policy

Research on regional inequality in China has generated controversial findings. This paper reveals that the trend for the last four and a half decades shows no clear divergent, convergent, or inverted-U patterns. I argue that regional inequality in China is sensitive to geographical scale and influenced by multiple mechanisms, and that the global and domestic contexts for China's regional development have changed dramatically. In particular, China's triple transitions-decentralization, marketization, and globalization-have fundamentally changed the mechanisms underlying regional development. Changes require new thinking on regional development strategies in China, which should emphasize developing non-state sectors, fully utilizing human resources, enhancing geographical targeting, and reforming urban and regional planning institutions.     

Building the Prime Forum for Asia

Addressing Asian concerns;mediating issues among emerging Asian economies-this is the purpose of the Boao Forum for Asia.This has been the forum’s goal since its inception a decade ago.Zhou Wenzhong,Secretary General of the BFA and former Ambassador to the United States,wants the forum’s prominence to grow several-fold in the coming years.Before leaving for this year’s BFA in south China’s Hainan Province,Zhou answered questions from Beijing Review reporter Ding Zhitao about the BFA’s development and influence on Asian economic integration and emerging economies.Edited excerpts follow     

China's Future Economic Regionalization

This paper investigates China's economic growth potentials and limitation up to 2020 and recommends a trend of economic regionalization. A sustainable growing economy is a necessity for China's future stability. The growth sustainability of the Chinese economy depends essentially on its continued commitments to institutional reform and economic deregulation. China's relaxation of government intervention in economic activities has led and will be leading China to decentralize its central governmental authority over economic planning and control. This will consequently stimulate the emergence of regional economies in Mainland China. In the next two decades, there will likely be 10 regional economies with relatively independent industrial structures emerging in Greater China (or the Chinese Economic Area of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the Mainland) as a result of economic liberalization and decentralization.     

Constructing Cooperation in Northeast Asia: historical Northeast Asian dyadic cultures and the potential for greater regional cooperation

What are the obstacles to greater cooperation in Northeast Asia and why have the nations of the region not been entirely successful in moving beyond history, toward greater cooperation? Conducting a brief survey of Northeast Asian IR and power alignment patterns from the Imperial/Dynastic era to the present, this essay utilizes the constructivist approach to assess regional alignment patterns in Northeast Asian history corresponding to six historical time periods, ranging from Ming China to the present. It does so by employing Wendt's system-level cultures of anarchy (Hobbesian, Lockean and Kantian cultures) at the dyadic/second level of analysis and the regional level of analysis (level 2.5), rating the various eras as to levels of cooperation vs enmity, with an eye to identifying the reasons for today's tension points. It concludes that despite such tension points and unresolved historical issues, anarchy in Northeast Asia today is not Hobbesian (enmity), but rather Lockean (rivalry). Consequently and first, war, nuclear proliferation and security spirals may be avoidable with proper sensitivity to the issues that continue to pose as obstacles to regional cooperation, including historical grievances, uncertainties over China's rise and the US role in the region, the North Korean nuclear issue and others. Second, attention to improving the dyadic cultures (China–Japan, South Korea–North Korea, etc.) that together comprise the region's relational culture (either Hobbesian, Lockean or Kantian) make greater regional cooperation possible and even more likely.     

Diagnosing the Financial Industry

Heads of the nation's top economic and finance watchdogs gathered together at the Lujiazui Forum held in Shanghai on May 15-16.The forum,initiated in 2007 and aimed at becoming a Chinese version of the World Economic Forum in Davos,was themed "finance and economic growth in a globalized age" this year.High-level attendees included Zhou Xiaochuan,Governor of the People's Bank of China;Shang Fulin,Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission(CSRC);Liu Mingkang,Chairman of the China Banking Regulator...     

‘The Chinese and the Thais are Brothers': the evolution of the Sino–Thai friendship

During the late 1970s and 1980s, the Chinese and Thais forged a close, friendly relationship based on their security cooperation in an informal alliance against Vietnamese regional hegemonism. In the 1990s, after the end of the Cambodian conflict and the Vietnamese threat, the Sino-Thai cooperative friendship became deeper and broader, rather than dissipating. How are we to explain the closeness of Sino-Thai relations today? While the dynamics of the international political structure in East Asia have played a critical role in shaping the relationship between these two countries since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the emerging regional international structure—particularly the rise of China—provides indeterminate incentives. Thailand could balance against or bandwagon with rising China, or try to hedge its bets; nor does the emerging structure direct how the Chinese will wield their growing influence and power over their neighbors. This article argues that the best explanation rests in a combination of the structural argument (the rise of China) with the desire of both countries to maintain the mutually beneficial partnership they constructed during the 1980s, in particular Thailand's role as a link or facilitator between the PRC and ASEAN.     

China and the Asian Economies: mutual acceptance,economic interaction and interactive dynamics

The objective of this article is to explore the economic relationship between China and the surrounding dynamic Asian economies. It delves into China's influence over the Asian economies and whether this relationship has evolved in a market- and institution-led symbiotic manner. The three principal channels of regional integration analyzed in this article are trade, FDI and vertically integrated production networks. Another issue that this article explores is the so-called China ‘threat’ or ‘fear’ in Asia. The China threat implied that China was crowding out exports from the other Asian economies in the world market place. Also, as China became the most attractive FDI destination among developing countries, it was understood that China was receiving FDI at the expense of the Asian economies. These concerns were examined by several empirical studies and the inference was that they were exaggerated. The article concludes that China methodically expanded and deepened its economic ties with its regional neighbors. At the present juncture, China's integration with the surrounding Asian nations is deep. Both China and its dynamic Asian neighbors have benefited from this synergy.     

China's Rise in Southeast Asia: implications for the United States

During the past few decades, China's economic success has permitted it to pursue a greater role on the international stage. China is recognized both as a regional and aspiring global power. Nowhere is this more evident than within Southeast Asia, where China's more active diplomacy is reflected in growing trade relations, proposals for stronger security ties, and the signing of numerous cooperative agreements on issues as varied as environmental protection, drug trafficking, and public health. As a whole, the region has received China's activism with both enthusiasm and trepidation. China has expended significant effort to assuage the fears of its neighbors by adopting a foreign policy approach that is active, non-threatening, and generally aligned with the economic and security interests of the region. This positive diplomacy has clearly yielded some success, most notably in the trade realm, where China is rapidly emerging as an engine of regional economic growth and integration that may well challenge Japanese and American dominance in the next three to five years. In the security realm, China's diplomacy, while rhetorically appealing to regional actors, has yet to make significant inroads in a regional security structure dominated by the United States and its bilateral security relationships. Most significantly, however, if China is to emerge as a real leader within Southeast Asia, it will also need to assume more of the social and political burden that leadership entails. As China continues to advance itself as a regional leader, its policies on issues such as health, drugs, the environment and human rights will face additional scrutiny not only for their impact on the region but also for the more profound question they raise concerning the potential of China's moral leadership. For the United States, China's greater presence and activism suggest at the very least that it cannot remain complacent about the status quo that has governed political, economic and security relations for the past few decades. Shared leadership within Southeast Asia will likely include China in the near future, with all the potential benefits and challenges that such leadership will entail.     

Multilateral versus Bilateral and Regional Trade Liberalization: explaining China's pursuit of free trade agreements (FTAs)

In recent years, at the same time it has pursued multilateral trade negotiations via membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has embraced a regional approach to trade liberalization by negotiating a number of bilateral or regional free trade agreements (FTAs) with its trading partners. This paper examines China's increasingly active FTA diplomacy and seeks to explain China's motives for pursuing expanded FTAs. Specifically, this paper argues that while China's FTA activism reflects considerations about enhancing China's influence in the Asia–Pacific region, capturing the economic gains of FTA participation, and minimizing the trade and investment diversion resulting from the competitive dynamics of regional trade liberalization, the move toward expanded FTAs is also consistent with the desire to create alternative bargaining forums over trade issues that could help to stabilize expectations as well as the need to use FTAs to control the pace of trade liberalization so as to accommodate protectionist pressure emanating from domestic interest groups. In particular, this paper highlights the impact of domestic politics on China's FTA negotiations through a detailed discussion of how pressure from protectionist seeking interests influences the scope and depth of China's FTAs.     

BRICS Go for Gold

正With contracts for 28 projects worth some 13.4 billion yuan($2.1 billion) signed, an innovation base for BRICS partners on the new industrial revolution was unveiled to the public in Xiamen, Fujian Province, on September 7. The announcement took place at a forum on the sidelines of the 21 st China International Fair for Investment and Trade, running from September 8 to 11.     

Post Cold War Evolution of Chinese Thinking on Regional Institutions in Northeast Asia

A review of four periods and a comparison of three regional institutions provide evidence for how serious China has become about multilateralism with its neighbors in Asia. Approval for multilateralism does not mean that China is ready to endorse strong regional organizations that bind their members, especially when it has reservations both about institutions that could undermine its narrow notion of sovereignty and norms that could support US or even Japanese efforts to impose long-feared universal values. If China calculates that limited multilateralism now provides a variety of benefits, to date its support reflects specific circumstances, not general trust in this format. Focusing on the Six-Party Talks as the presumed foundation for regionalism in Northeast Asia offers a concentrated view of strategic thinking toward the area most vital to China's security. In the standoff between North Korea and the United States we are able to assess the degree to which China accepts working with four or five states and the prospects for its active support, if circumstances permit, for the establishment of a peace and security mechanism through the fifth working group that originated in the Joint Agreement of February 2007.     

Interests,Power and China's Difficult Game in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)—an organization interpreted in various ways—officially announced that it intended to ensure regional security by countering international terrorism, ethnic separatism and religious extremism. This article discerns the motivations of the SCO members, arguing that they have their respective, albeit occasionally mutual, interests and priorities. There is generally asymmetry of interests—the principal reason why the SCO's strategic situation is largely a suasion game between China and the members—with China demonstrating a greater interest in the SCO; moreover, the power asymmetry between China and the Central Asian members and the power equality between China and Russia further complicates the situation. This sophisticated relationship implies that despite some measurable results, the SCO faces tremendous challenges in becoming a well-established regional organization.     

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): the Chinese perspective

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was accepted by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as one among other pathfinders, for a comprehensive Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). Though the TPP negotiations do not include China at the moment, she has declared her interest in the TPP and is paying close attention to it. In fact, many question the likely success of the TPP with China's exclusion from it, given her prominence in the region. To provide insights for leveraging trade opportunities with the TPP economies, China's export potentials with the TPP are empirically tested and compared with those of alternative economic configurations in East Asia which China is a party to, namely the ASEAN+1, ASEAN+3 and ASEAN+6. The empirical findings suggest that China's participation in the TPP will offer better market access for final goods, an important trade opportunity that is somewhat limited in partnerships through regional initiatives. Even then, the paper contends that the payoffs to China following the TPP deal remain intangible and at best speculative given the coverage (or substance) and depth of the agreement.     

赋权与互动:一次成功的倡导活动——中英项目云南大龄女童论坛与女孩一起工作的案例研究

文章展示的是云南"中英大龄女童技能培训和能力建设合作伙伴项目"的论坛活动之一.论坛以15-18岁来自农村贫困和民族地区的大龄女童为主体,让她们有机会向高层决策者表达自己及其生存社区女孩的心声和需求,进而推动政府、媒体及全社会对这部分特殊女童的积极关注.文章写实性地描述了论坛的设计与思考,赋权女童的过程以及倡导的过程和结果.     

教育资源不均衡对收入差异影响研究

中国近几十年在取得经济快速发展的同时,收入差异也在不断扩大。教育对社会及个人财富增长来说,都有十分重要的意义。运用国家统计数据进行实汪,发现中国教育资源存在区域不平衡和城乡不平衡等问题,它加剧了区域收入差异、城乡收入差异和群体收入差异扩大的趋势。建议：进一步提高认识;进一步加大投入;进一步完善制度。     

‘Old Bottle,New Wine’? Xinjiang Bingtuan and China’s ethnic frontier governance

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (Xinjiang Shengchan Jianshe Bingtuan—shortened form Bingtuan) is a distinctive military agricultural settlement and production institution in China’s western region, Xinjiang. It is also a modern form of China’s traditional ethnic frontier governing mechanism. This article discusses Bingtuan’s historical precedents, modern development and innovative change for Xinjiang governance. In an examination of Bingtuan’s main functions for China’s ethnic frontier governance, this article argues that in addition to economic sustainability and territorial security, Bingtuan played an important but multifaceted role in ethnic relations in Xinjiang, such as territorial fragmentation, ethnic separation and redefinition of regional identity; therefore Bingtuan not only makes its administrated area China’s ‘frontier of settlement’ but also acts as a key state agency for whatever future Xinjiang might have.     

Between Confrontation and Assimilation: China and the fragmentation of global financial governance

This article explains China's multilateral approach towards regional and global financial institutions in the early twenty-first century. Challenging the dichotomous views of ‘eventual assimilation’ and ‘systemic conflict’, the article argues that China's strategic behavior suggests neither one-way assimilation into an American-centered liberal order nor a collision course with the United States and its Group of Seven (G-7) allies. China seems intent on exploring both global and regional options lest it should limit the range of strategic options available to itself. China has been pursuing a risk-averse counterweight strategy, that is, developing regional financial institutions and thereby avoiding overdependence on G-7-centered global institutions while maintaining collaborative relations with those global institutions. Such behavior will facilitate the emergence of a more fragmented and multilayered form of global financial governance in the post-global crisis world.     

US‐China relations and the Taiwan factor

With the diplomatic warming of US‐China relations, the recent resumption of the Koo — Wang meeting and Taiwan's elections for legislators, mayors, and city councilors, cross‐Taiwan Strait relations are at another historical turning point. While the improvement of US‐China relations tends to relieve both sides from rhetoric exchanges of ‘China threat’ and ‘US‐Taiwan conspiracy’, Clinton's oral declaration of the ‘Three No's’ has raised serious concerns in Taiwan. With such a background, a group of experts and policy‐making participants from the US, Taiwan and Mainland China gathered again at a conference on ‘US‐China Relations and the Taiwan Factor’ in Washington, DC in mid‐October 1998. This was the second episode in a series of symposia on US‐China relations sponsored by the Association of Chinese Political Studies (ACPS). The symposium attempts to provide a free, intimate, and long‐term forum for a group of influential experts with different perspectives from the US, Taiwan and Mainland China. As a result, a deep understanding of common interests has been reached and clear differences have also been recognized through direct dialogue and frank exchange of ideas.