East Asian Economic Integration: A China-ASEAN Perspective

This book reviews and analyzes East Asian economic integration by looking at China-ASEAN economic relations and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA). The book explores the economic relations between China and ASEAN after the Cold War ended. As well, it investigates China's motives to establish the CAFTA (China-ASEAN Free Trade Area) and evaluates economic integration in East Asia, in which both China and ASEAN hold key roles. Much of the research is based upon interviews which the author conducted with key policy makers in China. After providing a theoretical framework and discussing methodology, the book provides a background on economic cooperation between China and ASEAN from the 1980s onwards. China's role in trade and investment cooperation before and after 2001 is also analyzed, as are China's shifting motives for cooperating with ASEAN. The book also looks at the features and the future for East Asian economic integration. Much of the research is based on Chinese language sources which are not usually referred to in Western works in this field.