Jan 02,2018 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

The year 2017 was a time of quiet realignment in Asian-inter-state relations, as the balance between hedging and engagement was shifting. Trump’s policies to the region left US allies eyeing new partners, while Xi’s assertions of leadership—in the absence of pushback from the usual quarters—made it advisable to stay on China’s good side. Japan, as […]

Gilbert Rozman
Abe Shinzo , BRI , Donald Trump , Indo-Pacific strategy , TPP
Dec 29,2017 Special Forum

Introduction

Recounting Donald Trump’s visit to five countries in East Asia in November, this Special Forum asks if divisions across the region have since widened or narrowed. It examines political, economic, security, and civilizational divisions, stressing developments in the course of Trump’s trip and its immediate aftermath. Trump rallied his counterparts in Asia behind intensified pressure […]

Editorial Staff
BRI , Donald Trump , Indo-Pacific strategy , Quad , TPP
Dec 29,2017 Special Forum

An Economic Perspective

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States in November 2016 created shock waves across the Asian countries that had been the targets of his campaign rhetoric. Candidate Trump had accused China of “outrageous theft of intellectual property, … illegal product dumping, and … devastating currency manipulation,” characterized the South Korea-US free […]

William W. Grimes
BRI , CPTPP , Donald Trump , KORUS FTA , RCEP , TPP
Dec 23,2017 Open Forum

Expanding US-India Geoeconomic Cooperation Amid China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The United States and India have an opportunity to co-define and co-implement a geoeconomic vision for the Indo-Pacific, based on shared values of freedom and transparency. However, formidable obstacles remain to overcome. Efforts from the United States have been ad hoc and at times self-defeating, such as withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. […]

Daniel Kliman , Manpreet S. Anand
BRI , China Pakistan Economic Corridor , Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor , String of Pearls Strategy , TPP
Dec 08,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2017)

Russian publications through the first half of the fall of 2017 were largely optimistic, assuming the decline of the United States, the reliability of China as a partner, and a considerable Russian leverage in East Asia, including in North Korea. Yet, they recognized that the Eastern Economic Forum failed to attract Asian investors, the Greater […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
APEC , BRI , Eastern Economic Forum , Great Eurasian Partnership , SCO , turn to the East
Nov 04,2017 Special Forum

The Trajectory of Chinese Foreign Policy: From Reactive Assertiveness to Opportunistic Activism

In recent years, particularly since Xi Jinping’s ascension to power, it has become commonplace for journalists and experts in the United States to describe China’s external behavior as growing increasingly assertive, even revisionist. Many commentators have attributed this shift to Xi, suggesting a causality between his leadership and China’s growing assertiveness. To many in the […]

Ryan Hass
19th Party Congress , AIIB , BRI , BRICS , communist party , Xi Jinping
Nov 04,2017 Special Forum

China and the “Definition Gap”: Shaping Global Governance in Words

Increasingly, China’s diplomacy is using key words commonly used by liberal democracies, but the meaning differs greatly. This evolution is changing the terms of the debate without changing a single term. The Widening “Definition Gap” China has very actively participated in high-level multilateral gatherings in recent years. Since he became president of the People’s Republic […]

Alice Ekman
19th Party Congress , BRI , community of common destiny , UN Security Council
Oct 30,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2017)

The October issue of Bungei Shunju traced Abe’s trajectory as prime minister. It noted his persistent interest in Japan playing a leading global role, keeping US ties as the foundation of foreign policy while strengthening relations with other countries including China and Russia. In 2014, China was the target, as Abe sought a first meeting […]

Editorial Staff
BRI , BRICS summit , comfort women , Senkaku Islands , THAAD , UN sanctions