Country Report: China (April 2019)

In early 2019, Chinese experts assessed Chinese–Korean economic relations, China’s relationship with South Korea, and the potential for extending the Belt and Road Initiative to Northeast Asia. They […]

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 […]

Country Report: China (April 2018)

China’s foreign relations are under extraordinary flux. Sino-US relations are viewed as more perilous than at any time since 1989 with some even going further back to 1979 […]

From Friend to Foe-ish: Washington’s Negative Turn on the Belt and Road Initiative

Despite its status as a Pacific power, the United States has been somewhat peripheral to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since the latter’s inception in late 2013. […]

Synopsis of the 2018 Asan Plenum: “Illiberal International Order”

The agenda of the 2018 Asan Plenum included a keynote address, a book launch, four plenary sessions, and fourteen panels meeting simultaneously in groups of two or three. […]

Country Report: China (February 2018)

In early 2018, Chinese analysts assessed the Trump administration’s tariff policies and considered various countries’ policies toward North Korea. They considered the Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy, China’s South […]

Washington Insights: December 2017

Confusion reigns with scant clarification by the oft-dysfunctional US government. The preoccupation with Trump’s tweets and statements persists, obscuring other points of analysis of East Asian matters. North […]

A US Perspective

During the Cold War, a polarized order prevailed in East Asia due to China’s switching sides. Some have predicted its return as China and Russia draw closer, away […]

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 […]

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 […]