New Regionalism and Economic Integration in East Asia

Author: Chen Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: This book is adapted from the author's doctoral dissertation. The entire work follows two main threads: one is new regionalism, and the other is regional economic integration in East Asia. The book begins by introducing the concept of new regionalism, systematically reviewing and analyzing various theories of new regionalism both domestically and internationally. Following this thread, it shifts to the study of new regionalism in East Asia, elaborating on the uniqueness of East Asian new regionalism in the process of analyzing and describing its historical evolution and characteristics. Then, the focus shifts to the analysis of East Asian economic integration. The dissertation adopts an empirical approach, analyzing the integration of East Asian economies under market-driven forces from the perspectives of trade, direct investment, and finance. The two main threads complement each other: the first thread emphasizes the theme of institutional arrangements, i.e., regionalism (regionalism); the second thread focuses on market-driven regionalization (regionalization). The two threads also support each other: regionalism typically requires regionalization to sustain it, and regionalization highlights the necessity of regionalism. By researching and organizing along these two threads, the aim is to propose strategic ideas and strategies for Chinese regionalism. As a result, the two threads converge at the end of the book. The chapter structure of the book is as follows.
Chapter 1 defines the concept of regionalism and comprehensively introduces and reviews various perspectives on new regionalism. It then transitions to the analysis of the characteristics of new regionalism, concluding with an analysis of the relationship between regionalism and multilateral mechanisms.
Chapter 2 begins by discussing the reasons for the formation of East Asian regionalism, followed by an analysis of its characteristics and offering analytical insights into its prospects. Finally, it conducts an economic impact study of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area as an example.
Chapter 3 analyzes the interdependence of trade and investment within East Asian economies under market-driven conditions, highlighting the characteristics of trade and investment mutual promotion in the East Asian context.
Chapter 4 is a continuation and deepening of Chapter 3. Using intra-regional component trade data, this chapter demonstrates the existence and importance of new forms of division of labor in East Asian economies (along the value chain of products), showing how the production networks formed under this division of labor further illustrate the interdependence of East Asian economies. The chapter uses data to illustrate China's role in the regional production network and proposes strategies to improve its division of labor status from a theoretical perspective.
Chapter 5 mainly consists of two parts: the first part analyzes East Asian intra-regional capital flows and the related analysis of East Asian stock markets to illustrate the degree of financial integration and interdependence among East Asian economies. The second part examines the development and prospects of East Asian regionalism in the financial sector.
Chapter 6 begins by describing the historical process of East Asian regionalism, highlighting China's contributions to advancing it. Based on historical experience and theoretical logic, it proposes strategies for Chinese regionalism.
In the above discussions, the book puts forward the following viewpoints and basic conclusions:
(1) The theory of new regionalism has not yet formed a complete system and is still under development. Specifically, what is termed new regionalism theory is essentially an interpretation and analysis of the new characteristics of regionalism that emerged in Europe and the Americas after the 1990s from different dimensions by Western economists and scholars from other fields.
(2) The views on new regionalism proposed by European and American scholars cannot fully explain the phenomenon of East Asian new regionalism. Due to the uniqueness of East Asia, East Asian new regionalism exhibits a certain degree of pragmatism. It can be summarized that the difference between European and East Asian new regionalism lies in this: European new regionalism is rule-driven (i.e., "small countries" aligning with the rules of "large countries"), while East Asian new regionalism is primarily problem-oriented. Problem orientation refers to the fact that East Asian new regionalism mainly focuses on addressing common problems and challenges faced by regional economies, with East Asian economies showing lower regional identity compared to other regions.
(3) Due to the high heterogeneity of East Asian economies and other constraints, the development potential of East Asian new regionalism is limited.
(4) Driven by market forces, the degree of trade and investment integration in East Asia is relatively high, but it still maintains close trade ties with the United States and Europe and receives a large amount of investment from both regions. For East Asia, trade and investment are mutually reinforcing rather than mutually substitutive.
(5) Due to the significant differences in economic development levels and factor endowments among East Asian economies, and driven by multinational corporations, East Asian economies have gradually formed a regional production structure based on the division of labor in production processes. China plays a major role in this new regional division of labor system.
(6) East Asian economies have made some progress in establishing shallow-level financial policy coordination and emergency rescue mechanisms, and have taken a small step toward establishing a regional bond market. However, achieving deeper cooperation (such as exchange rate cooperation) remains challenging.
(7) Entering the 21st century, China has clearly accelerated the pace of regional cooperation. In the process of implementing its regionalism strategy, China should consider factors such as security, politics, and economics, cautiously select partners, negotiate the details of agreements in detail, and correctly weigh various interests.