Nov 08,2018 National Commentaries

A View from China

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s Beijing tour in October of 2018 went well. It is not just the first time a Japanese prime minister has returned to Beijing in 8 years. The significance is that after years of lingering tensions over the Diaoyu/Senkaku territorial fracture, the two sides are ultimately and realistically seeking a new phase […]

Zhu Feng*

BRI , China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship , Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands , free and open Indo-Pacific , RCEP , TPP

Aug 31,2018 Special Forum

International Law in US-China Relations: Trade Wars and Maritime Rights in the Era of Xi and Trump

In an increasingly fraught US-China relationship, issues of international law have become important in their own right and illustrative of broader patterns. A pair of particularly salient and illuminating arenas are trade (and related economic matters) and maritime rights (including related security issues, especially in the South China Sea). In each of these fields, the […]

Jacques deLisle

BRI , CPTPP , Made in China 2025 , RCEP , South China Sea , TPP , UNCLOS , WTO

Aug 23,2018 National Commentaries

An American (Non-Trumpian) Perspective on Asian Integration

With the long-standing failure of multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organization and the recent US retreat to economic nationalism and “America First,” Asian trade and investment liberalization and regional integration are increasingly where the action is for global economic advances. This reality is illustrated by three moving targets: the completion and expansion of the […]

Claude Barfield

CPTPP , FTAs , Indo-Pacific strategy , RCEP

Jun 07,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (June 2018)

Kawakami Takashi in Kaigai Jijo No. 3-4, linked Trump’s chaos to America’s decline, leading to a breakdown in the world order. Giving rise to this is the power shift between Washington and Beijing, which is accompanied by a civilizational transfer from the West. US fatigue from the fight against terrorism has accelerated this shift. Instead […]

Editorial Staff

Abe-Trump summit , BRI , China-Japan-Korea summit , Deal diplomacy , free and open Indo-Pacific , RCEP , trade war

Feb 19,2018 Open Forum

How and Why Japan Has Saved the TPP: From Trump Tower to Davos

The Trump administration has employed “America First” as its defining electoral and governing slogan, viewing economic openness and globalization as harmful to US jobs and industrial competitiveness. It regards trade surpluses as evidence of winning and deficits as evidence of losing; the stated goal is consequently bilateral trade deals as the optimal approach to reduce […]

Terada Takashi*

Abenomics , America First , Japan-EU EPA , Japan-US FTA , RCEP , TPP , TPP-11

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

Jun 20,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (June 2017)

Despite his unsettling campaign rhetoric and transitional moves, Trump rekindled hope among the Japanese right and the left in his first two months in office; but in April and May, he once again dashed much of it. For the right, Abe’s February meeting with Trump and the sense that US policy toward China and North […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , RCEP , South China Sea , THAAD , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit

Jun 19,2017 National Commentaries

A View from the United States

On May 4, the United States announced the conclusion of a US-China trade deal. There is some good news in terms of immediate new market access for US beef exports as well as commitments by China that its domestic regulatory agencies will consider providing the licenses and patents that are needed to ensure market access […]

Joshua P. Meltzer

Belt and Road Forum , BRI , Donald Trump , RCEP , TPP , US-China Trade Agreement , Xi Jinping

Jun 19,2017 National Commentaries

A View from Asia

Skeptics will scoff, but China is on course to replace the United States as the leading power in Asia. China is still not trusted: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is stirring up as much fear as hope, and few countries buy its diplomatic mantra about delivering “mutual benefits.” Yet China’s economic diplomacy is bold, […]

Tom Miller

Belt and Road Forum , BRI , RCEP , TPP , Xi Jinping

Jun 17,2017 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario II

This second positive scenario of possible Russo-US cooperation in Asia assesses the latest developments in bilateral relations and US anti-Russian sentiments, the regional background in the Asia-Pacific as well as Russian and US relations with ASEAN and regional organizations. This scenario responds to the negative scenario presented by Stephen Blank by touching on Russia’s Asian […]

Anna Kireeva

APEC , ASEAN , Asia pivot , Donald Trump , EAS , NATO , North Korea , RCEP , RFE