Northeast Asia Geostrategic Forum

[TaiShang]

Taiwan’s presidential office condemned China’s moves to restrict its international relations. “This not only threatens the rights of the Taiwanese people, it is also a dangerous provocation to the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and the region at large,” it said.

Most of us see the move by Beijing not as a victory lap against the residents of Taiwan, but an undesired yet required step in order to isolate radical elements in Taiwan's political establishment that push the island into a self-defeating path.

Our consensus in our discussions is such that if Beijing really pushed aggressively, Taiwan's remaining recognition would come down to single digits. But, we see Beijing not wanting to over-pressure Taiwan administration and save some leverage in case Taiwan administration goes further radical.

We had seen this coming as Tsai Yingwen failed to uphold the hard-established goodwill generated during KMT rule by failing to recognize the most basic of all understandings: That there is only ONE China.

Just as Japan does not belong to Ainus anymore, Taiwan is not an indigenous Taiwanese islanders' island, but a Chinese island. The political camp in power need to get this into their head before they receive further pressure and isolation.

The good outcome of this might be that if Tsai happens to be a one term president, it may mean a long-term decline of DPP as a radical political movement. KMT-CCP, the real historical Chinese parties unlike the DPP, will then find a long term win-win solution.

 

[Raphael]

Most of us see the move by Beijing not as a victory lap against the residents of Taiwan, but an undesired yet required step in order to isolate radical elements in Taiwan's political establishment that push the island into a self-defeating path.

Yep. For the countries that have them, formal diplomatic ties with the RoC are a relic of the Cold War. Most desperately want to switch to China instead, but China previously rebuffed them to help MYJ save face.

Just as Japan does not belong to Ainus anymore, Taiwan is not an indigenous Taiwanese islanders' island, but a Chinese island. The political camp in power need to get this into their head before they receive further pressure and isolation.

Funny thing is the base that DPP represents is not indigenous. DPP is the party of Hoklo supremacism, and that's why Taiwan aborigines always supports the KMT.

 

[Place Of Space]

Tsai Yingwen has done veli good jobs. We like this kind of woman.
I hope next Taiwan province governor will learn from her, and act more agreesively.

 

[TaiShang]

Yep. For the countries that have them, formal diplomatic ties with the RoC are a relic of the Cold War. Most desperately want to switch to China instead, but China previously rebuffed them to help MYJ save face.

Definitely. If anyone believes those countries would not switch side the moment Beijing showed a bit of money and looks a little angrily, they are out of their mind.

As you say, some have even approached Beijing but only to be rebuffed because everything was going great under Ma. If Ma had another term and ECFA-services was successfully implemented, it would be amazing. But, the radicals hijacked the momentum.

Funny thing is the base that DPP represents is not indigenous. DPP is the party of Hoklo supremacism, and that's why Taiwan aborigines always supports the KMT.

Yes, much as Ainus, the real aborigines have been already rendered very small and insignificant. For DPP to suffer defeat, the less-educated farm communities in the south should feel economic pressure. But interestingly, it is the urbanite northern people who actually suffer under Tsai's wrong policies, especially wit respect to sky-rocketing home prices.

Tsai Yingwen has done veli good jobs. We like this kind of woman.
I hope next Taiwan province governor will learn from her, and act more agreesively.

In a sense, that's true, but, all we can hope for is the best outcome, which would be a peaceful unification with no hard feelings. On the other hand, maybe Tsai administration will teach a lesson that radicalization does not pay off because Beijing is simply too big and powerful to play trick against by leaning on Japan or others.

If Tsai goes further radical, I would like to see Beijing to speedily reduce Taiwan's recognitions down to 7-8 countries.

 

[Place Of Space]

Definitely. If anyone believes those countries would not switch side the moment Beijing showed a bit of money and looks a little angrily, they are out of their mind.

As you say, some have even approached Beijing but only to be rebuffed because everything was going great under Ma. If Ma had another term and ECFA-services was successfully implemented, it would be amazing. But, the radicals hijacked the momentum.



Yes, much as Ainus, the real aborigines have been already rendered very small and insignificant. For DPP to suffer defeat, the less-educated farm communities in the south should feel economic pressure. But interestingly, it is the urbanite northern people who actually suffer under Tsai's wrong policies, especially wit respect to sky-rocketing home prices.



In a sense, that's true, but, all we can hope for is the best outcome, which would be a peaceful unification with no hard feelings. On the other hand, maybe Tsai administration will teach a lesson that radicalization does not pay off because Beijing is simply too big and powerful to play trick against by leaning on Japan or others.

If Tsai goes further radical, I would like to see Beijing to speedily reduce Taiwan's recognitions down to 7-8 countries.

I insist my opinion, Tsai actually can do better job, like declare establishment of Taiwan Republic or what...I expect next governor to move forward.

 

[TaiShang]

Trade with Northeast Asia in focus

By JING SHUIYU and LIU MINGTAI in Changchun
| China Daily | Updated: 2017-09-02 09:47

China will continue to facilitate trade and investment in the Northeast Asia region, officials said on Friday.

They also urged all the parties concerned to forge cooperation in sectors like internet-based businesses, high-end intelligent manufacturing and modern services.

China's Vice-Premier Wang Yang said, "Although China has run a trade deficit with several countries in the region, we do not engage in trade protection, and we are willing to further expand our imports from these economies to meet diverse needs."

He made the remarks while addressing the 11th China-Northeast Asia Expo that opened in Beijing on Friday.

China is willing to sign high-level trade agreements with the parties concerned, he said.

The biannual expo serves as an important platform to bolster economic and trade exchanges among Northeast Asian countries.

The 9th Summit Forum on Northeast Asia Cooperation was also held as part of the expo.

Qian Keming, vice-minister of commerce, said: "All parties in this region should promote all-round interconnection of infrastructure, and explore opportunities for collaboration in sectors like internet, high-end and intelligent manufacturing, and modern services."

In 2016, trade between China and the five other countries of Northeast Asia totaled about $606 billion, accounting for 16.4 percent of China's overall foreign trade, Qian said. In the same year, the other five countries' investment in China reached about $7.85 billion, while China's total investment in these countries also continued to grow, Qian said.

To achieve regional goals, Northeast China's development needs to be stimulated, experts said.

The region borders Mongolia, Russia, and the Korean Peninsula, and is Northeast Asia's major transport and logistics hub.

It has also been designated as one of the key areas of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Coupled with huge market potential, this important industrial base has rich resources, a wide talent pool, and a solid base of infrastructure.

The country will promote unswervingly "a new round of strategies" to revitalize Northeast China, and welcomes all economies to explore win-win cooperation in fields such as circular economy, green economy, healthcare, high-end equipment, bio-medicine and ice industry, said Lin Nianxiu, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.

In the first half of this year, the number of newly registered enterprises in Northeast China increased by 19.2 percent year-on-year, according to Lin.

The Northeast Asian countries will diversify their trade and also boost trade in services to benefit mutually, said Kang Sung-cheon, deputy minister of South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

 

[TaiShang]

NE Asia needs strong regional framework to avoid geopolitical traps

By Lee Jong Won

Source:Global Times Published: 2017/10/19

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Since the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Northeast Asia has emerged as a new unit or framework of international relations, with the European Union taking the lead. Even strife-ridden countries in the African continent cooperated to establish the African Union. For the past centuries, nation-building has been the common goal of many countries. But as the historic limitations and dysfunction of the sovereign state system become apparent, the world now seems to have entered a new era of region-building. As of 2010, the number of regional or sub-regional organizations amounted to 173, almost the same as that of United Nations member states.

Two dynamics are competing with each other, affecting the progress and prospect of region-building: geopolitics and geo-economics. Geopolitics, often combined with national interests and aspirations, tends to be in conflict, while geo-economics, with its emphasis on shared economic interests, encourages states to cooperate across borders.

East Asia is the region where the interplay between the two dynamics unfolds in the most evident way. Since the late 1970s, with China opening to the world, East Asia has emerged as a region, deepening economic interdependence and heralding the advent of an Asian Century. Even with recurrent conflicts among regional states over historical and territorial issues, East Asia shows a higher degree of intra-regional trade ratio than NAFTA in North America.

Against the backdrop of highly intertwined economies, East Asian countries advanced the vision of an East Asian Community at the ASEAN Plus Three (ASEAN nations plus China, Japan, and South Korea) in 2001. As a step toward the community, the East Asia Summit was established in 2005, the first gathering of regional heads-of-states in its history.

However, from the beginning, the vision of the East Asian Community itself has become the target of geopolitical rivalries and suspicion, caused by the historic power transition. Concerned by the rapid rise of China, Japan and some ASEAN nations argued for the expansion of the East Asia Summit, to include such countries as India, Australia and New Zealand. In 2011, the US and Russia joined the summit as formal members to counterbalance the ever-growing influence of China.

Thus the East Asia Summit, which was expected to be the platform of the East Asian Community, transformed into an arena of geopolitical battles, particularly between China and the US, losing momentum toward regional cooperation. Instead, China began to push forward its own design for regionalism, based on its increasing economic power - the Belt and Road initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in the economic arena, and the revitalization of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia as a regional security framework.

Region-building in East Asia, which has been promoted by geo-economic dynamics, is now facing multi-layered geopolitical challenges: the old and new Cold Wars. The ongoing nuclear crisis in the Korean Peninsula basically is the direct outcome of the continuing Cold War confrontation. For the past decades, we have witnessed the repeated frustration of initiatives for regional cooperation in the midst of recurring military tensions in the peninsula. It is now clear that without resolving the nuclear deadlock between North Korea and regional nations, Northeast Asia will not be able to realize its tremendous potential for development.

More broadly, a new Cold War between China and the US, and between China and Japan, casts a long shadow over the prospects of East Asia in general. Rising tensions among the regional states are expressions of power transitions caused by the relative decline of American hegemony and the rapid rise of China. As history shows us, periods of hegemonic change and power transition are rife with mutual suspicion and conflicts. To avert such a mutually destructive course of events, the so-called Thucydides Trap, we need to build a comprehensive regional framework, overcoming the geopolitical division among various regional groupings.

The author is a professor at Waseda University, Japan. The article was selected from his thesis delivered to the Tumen River Forum held in Yanbian last week.

 

[neolithic]

Sino-Japanese cherry plantation of friendship blossoms

 

[TaiShang]

China, Japan officials exchange views on security issues at 15th dialogue

Xinhua, October 28, 2017

​

Participants attend the 15th China-Japan Security Dialogue in Tokyo, Japan, on Oct. 27, 2017. Senior diplomats from China and Japan have exchanged views on a number of security issues at the 15th China-Japan Security Dialogue held in Tokyo. [Photo/Xinhua］

Senior diplomats from China and Japan have exchanged views on a number of security issues at the 15th China-Japan Security Dialogue held in Tokyo.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou and Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Akiba, co-chaired the dialogue on Friday which was attended by foreign affairs and security officials of both countries.

Kong also met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono during his visit.

Kong told Kono that Sino-Japanese relationship has seen a number of positive interactions recently but is still faced with complicated factors.

As this year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic ties, and next year will be the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty, Kong urged the two sides to take the opportunities to overcome obstacles and interruptions and consolidate the momentum of the improvement of bilateral relations.

Kono, for his part, offered congratulations on the success of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and said that Japan attaches importance to its relationship with China and is willing to make joint efforts with China to improve and develop bilateral relations.

During the security dialogue, the two sides exchanged views on the regional and world security situation, security policies of China and Japan and bilateral security communication and cooperation.

The Chinese side said that China, as always a participant and facilitator of international peace and stability, will steadfastly adhere to the path of peaceful development and call for fostering a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.

The Chinese side also said China has also expressed concerns on Japan's movements in the security and military areas in recent years, hoping that Japan sticks to peaceful development and plays a constructive role in regional peace and stability.

The Japanese side briefed their Chinese counterparts on Japan's defense and security policies, saying Japan will continue to be a peaceful country and stick to the "defense only" posture and the Three Non-Nuclear Principles.

The two sides agreed to continue carrying out dialogues, enhance crisis management and control, and play active roles in improving bilateral relations.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono (L) shakes hands with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou in Tokyo, Japan, on Oct. 27, 2017. Senior diplomats from China and Japan have exchanged views on a number of security issues at the 15th China-Japan Security Dialogue held in Tokyo. [Photo/Xinhua］

http://china.org.cn/world/2017-10/28/content_41810326_2.htm

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese premier calls for advancing China-Japan-South Korea FTA negotiations

Xinhua | Updated: 2017-11-14

MANILA - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for speeding up negotiations of China-Japan-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA) here on Tuesday.

"China stands ready to work with relevant parties to speed up negotiations of China-Japan-South Korea FTA, taking a more active part in promoting negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, so as to achieve the long-term goal of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP)," Li said.

Li made the remarks when addressing the 20th ASEAN-China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) leaders' meeting in the Philippine capital of Manila.

During the meeting, he called for further promoting trade liberalization and facilitation to establish an East Asia Economic Community, which is a strategic goal of the 10+3 cooperation.

China-Japan-South Korea FTA negotiations were launched in November 2012, with the 12th round of the negotiations being held in Tokyo this April.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-11/14/content_34527257.htm

 

[neolithic]

Chinese, Japanese have better impressions of each other's country: study

 

[TaiShang]

China, Japan agree to hold China-Japan-ROK summit as soon as possible

CGTN
5km to Beijing
2018-01-28

China and Japan agreed to hold a new round of China-Japan-ROK leaders' meetings as soon as possible, and foster proper environment for the trilateral summit.

The agreement came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono Sunday in Beijing.

"High-level exchanges can play a leading role in improving bilateral ties," according to China MOFA's press release from the talks.

The two sides also welcomed the creation of an air and maritime contact mechanism between the two countries and pledged to sign the deal as soon as possible."China and Japan should work together to build the East China Sea into the sea of peace, cooperation and friendship," said the press release.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. The two sides agreed to take the opportunity to strengthen exchanges at all levels and in various fields, including culture, local government, media and youth, and step up mutually beneficial cooperation.

Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono (L) shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (R) as they pose before their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on January 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

"Bilateral ties have gone through an extraordinary journey over the past 40 years," Wang said, calling on both sides to "remain true to their original aspirations, learn from experiences and promote the continuous improvement of the relationship."

The two sides should build political mutual trust, Wang said.

He called on the Japanese side to treat China as a partner instead of a rival, and treat China's development as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Wang also urged Japan to honor its commitment, deal with the Taiwan issue based on the one-China principle, and respect China's sovereignty and security rights on issues related to Tibet and Xinjiang.

Since normalizing ties in 1972, China and Japan have signed four important political documents as well as a four-point principled agreement. "The two sides should always stick to that and safeguard the political foundation for bilateral ties," Wang said.

Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono (L) speaks during a meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on January 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

Regarding the Taiwan issue, Japan will abide by the principles established in the 1972 Japan-China joint communique that normalized bilateral relations. Japan will also properly deal with issues related to Tibet and Xinjiang, which are part of China's internal affairs, according to Kono.

China and Japan are the world's second and third largest economy, respectively. Kono said that developing a stable bilateral relationship not only served the interests of the two countries, but also the entire international community.

He pledged to advance bilateral ties based on mutual benefit and the consensus of "being each others' cooperation partners rather than threats."

Kono expressed Japan's positive attitude on participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and exploring cooperation in a third country.

The two foreign ministers also exchanged opinions on regional and international issues including the Korean Peninsula issue. They vowed to jointly safeguard the free trade system, promote regional economic integration and build an open world economy.

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese premier proposes 'China-Japan-ROK+X' cooperation mode

CGTN
2104km to Beijing
2018-05-09

China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) should carry out joint projects in such areas as capacity cooperation, poverty reduction, disaster management and energy saving through a new cooperation mode of "China-Japan-ROK+X," said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.

Li made the proposal at a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and ROK's President Moon Jae-in in Tokyo.

He said that there are a large number of countries in Asia, and their development disparities are huge. China, Japan and the ROK, which are at the forefront of development in Asia, should give full play to their respective advantages in equipment, technology, capital and engineering construction to jointly open up the fourth-party even multi-party market to promote the rapid sound development of Asian countries.

First proposed by the ROK in 2004 as a meeting outside the framework of the ASEAN Plus Three, the China-Japan-ROK Summit is meant to function as a coordinator of cooperation between the ASEAN and the three East Asian nations of China, Japan, and the ROK. The last meeting was held in Seoul in 2015.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and ROK's President Moon Jae-in pose for photographers prior to their summit in Tokyo, May 9, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Discussions on regional free trade deals

Chinese Premier Li said at the meeting that China, Japan and ROK should accelerate the negotiations for trilateral Free Trade Agreement and achieve the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at an early date. Premier Li is making a state visit to Japan, the first by a Chinese premier since 2010.

China, Japan and ROK have all benefited from free trade in their respective development and are all advocates of free trade, Li said.

Li stressed that under current circumstances, the three countries should stand together in an even more steadfast manner to safeguard the rule-based multilateral free trade system and take a firm position against acts of trade protectionism and unilateralism.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attend the trilateral summit at Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo, Japan, May 9, 2018. /Reuters Photo

"For our three nations, building future-oriented cooperative relations is extremely important for the region as a whole," Abe said at the start of the trilateral meeting.

In a signed article in Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun on Tuesday, titled "Let the Cause of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan Set Sail Again," Li urged the three countries to promote regional stability and development, and safeguard free trade and a rule-based multilateral trade system by accelerating the establishment of a trilateral free trade zone and negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

China, Japan and the ROK are the world's second, third and 11th largest economies, respectively. If an FTA is signed, the giant common market in Northeast Asia will be a strong driver for regional economic integration, trade and investment growth, and can eventually breathe new life into the world economy, Jiang Yuechun, director of the Department for World Economy and Development Studies under China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), said.

Discussions on Korean Peninsula

Chinese Premier Li urged the parties concerned to seize the current opportunity to promote denuclearization and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Currently, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is at a crucial juncture for improvement, Li said, calling for sticking to the direction of dialogue and reconciliation.

China supports the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and ROK to improve ties, and congratulates them on holding a successful meeting between the two countries' leaders, Li said.

China hopes the upcoming DPRK-US summit will be smooth, he added.

"We are also in favor of dialogues among parties in various forms to address both the symptoms and root causes, promote a political settlement of the peninsula issue and establish a peace mechanism, so as to achieve lasting peace in the region," Li said.

China will continue to play a constructive role to this end, he told the press after the trilateral meeting.

Praising Chinese moves to engage the DPRK, which resulted in an unofficial visit by Kim to China’s Dalian on Tuesday, Abe said further efforts towards denuclearization were essential.

"We'd like to build on these efforts as well as the actions of the United Nations to pursue complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization," he said. "We three nations need to stay in close touch with international society and demand that DPRK take concrete moves. This is essential."

"We must take the recent momentum towards denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and towards peace and security in Northeast Asia, and, cooperating even further with international society, make sure this is linked to concrete action by the DPRK," Abe told a news conference after the meeting.

Moon said the three nations would continue cooperation as the North and the South have moved towards a permanent peace settlement.

"Above all we reached the consensus that complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a permanent peace settlement and improvement of inter-Korean relations is very important for peace and prosperity of Northeast Asia," he added.

In comments aimed at his domestic base, Abe told the news conference Japan would normalize ties with the DPRK if the nuclear and missile issues, along with that of the abduction of Japanese citizens, are solved comprehensively.

Li said he supported the idea of dialogue between Japan and the DPRK.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d414e32557a4d77457a6333566d54/share_p.html

 

[TaiShang]

Li: Three nations should push region's integration

By HU YONGQI in Tokyo | China Daily | Updated: 2018-05-10

Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (center) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in take questions from journalists after the seventh leaders' meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. LI TAO / XINHUA

Premier says Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul need to stand behind multilateral system

China, Japan and the Republic of Korea should accelerate negotiations to establish a free trade area and reach agreements on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as soon as possible to achieve regional integration, Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday.

At the seventh China-Japan-ROK leaders' meeting in Tokyo, the premier said development of the three countries has benefited from free trade, and they should firmly stand together to safeguard the rule-based multilateral trading system and fight against protectionism and unilateralism.

The regional partnership is a proposed free trade agreement between the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and six other countries, including China, Japan and the ROK.

Li called on these neighbors to manage their differences using their wisdom and achieve a higher level of cooperation. He said the countries should strengthen cooperation in six key areas: trade liberalization, production capacity and investment, infrastructure and connectivity, finance, sustainable development and people-to-people exchanges.

Li said the three countries should work to explore fourthparty markets using the model of "China-Japan-ROK plus X" to quicken regional development. There are disparities in the development levels of Asian countries, so China, Japan and the ROK should combine their advantages in equipment, capital and technologies for joint projects in production capacity, poverty alleviation, disaster management and environmental protection, he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the three countries support free trade and open markets as major traders and should propose trading rules with high standards. They should also boost personnel exchanges and enhance cooperation in education and tourism for a more open and inclusive development, he said.

Li also called for continued dialogue and negotiations to achieve denuclearization and peace in the Korean Peninsula, saying China supports all relevant parties in conducting dialogues in all forms. Li also met separately with Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday afternoon.

The three leaders also delivered speeches at a sideline event, a China-Japan-ROK business summit of 200 business executives.

"In the past few years, as far as trilateral relations and their impact on both overall economic and individual company performances are concerned, our mutual feeling is that openness and cooperation are conducive to economic development for us all," said the chairman of Chinese company Sanpower Group, Yuan Yafei, who spoke at the summit.

Focusing on retail and healthcare, the Nanjing-based company has 40,000 overseas employees and seeks new market opportunities in Japan and the ROK.

"We very much look forward to a more open and inclusive business environment, in which companies can 'go global' ... with reassurance among the three countries as a result of improved exchanges and collaboration made possible by this summit," Yuan said.

The trilateral meeting was held at the right time, when the world is confronted with rising anti-globalization sentiment and protectionism, said Xu Liping, a researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. It also will inject new energy into the global economy and free trade, as well as confidence into economic development in East Asia as long as the three countries carry out pragmatic cooperation, Xu added.

***

It is refreshing to hear China talking of regionalism/regional integration. We were too much bogged down in this BRI/Globalization thought. BRI is good. But BRI that comes at the cost of ignoring the region is bad. And, for China, the regional priority should be NEA.

China's diplomacy corps are doing phenomenal work recently. Maybe it was just a matter of time but not a question of not knowing.

@Cybernetics

 

[Cybernetics]

Regional integration of NEA will take a while and in many steps. Currently East Asia is in a short term "win streak" with many positive developments happening in tandem, part of a long term positive trend with ups and downs. The Olympic games, at least for East Asia had been the precursor of positive events since it is utilised as a focal point/spearhead for other developments, the games and tourism is secondary. Its sort of the logic behind symbolic skyscrapers, you might not make money on the building itself, perhaps even lose a lot of money directly but use it to push development of the land around it. 2008 Beijing Olympics brought China to a new level on the world stage but the nation was preparing holistically for many years, this had immense internal implications for China (mental shift of the grassroots but not exactly visible to outsiders). Pyeongchang winter games brought a new era for the Korean peninsula, the games itself was ordinary. Hopefully 2020 Tokyo Olympics can add to this trend, along with 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

I'm looking forward to 2020 Tokyo Olympics and its implications

BRI in my view is a long project, not something that should be reconsidered due to short term political shifts. I agree in the sense that China should focus on integrating the core regions. Modern economic system is mainly dependent on advanced industrial technology, it is in China's interest to better integrate with nations that can provide synergies in this area and all East Asian nations are working towards this. The rest of BRI would be much easier if the core can be better coordinated. Some elements like infrastructure on the other-hand requires decades of patience and persistence to build to facilitate the long term BRI.

East Asian integration (not just free trade)can only happen when China is further down the mean regression and be broadly competitive with Japan and South Korea.