November - December 2025

The Asan Forum > Economic Relations

Economic Relations

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December 29, 2017 Special Forum
A Security Perspective

Despite much anticipation and concern, President Donald Trump wrapped up his East Asia trip without making unexpected moves. Although Trump realized economic gains by striking multiple business deals […]

Shin Beomchul*

Donald Trump, Hwaseong 15, Indo-Pacific strategy, Super 301, UNSCR 2397, US-ROK alliance
December 29, 2017 Special Forum
A Civilizational Perspective

Donald Trump is pressing his idea of “America First,” which could have deep civilizational implications, undercutting “universal values” and adding momentum to recent assertiveness about distinctive civilizations by […]

Kazuhiko Togo

America First, China Dream, Donald Trump, Gosudarstvennost, Shinzo Abe, Take Back Japan
December 23, 2017 Country Reports
Country Report: China (December 2017)

In late 2017, Chinese analysts explored Japan’s response to the North Korean nuclear crisis, its warmer relations with Russia, and conciliatory economic cooperation with the United States. They […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

America First, Donglang dispute, Malabar exercises, middle power, THAAD, US-Japan alliance
December 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 […]

Daniel Kliman

BRI, China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor, String of Pearls Strategy, TPP
December 8, 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, […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

APEC, BRI, Eastern Economic Forum, Great Eurasian Partnership, SCO, turn to the East
December 8, 2017 Open Forum
Russia’s North Korea Policy: The Logic and Dilemma of Assisting North Korea

In seeking bilateral negotiations with North Korea, Japan focused on the abduction issue. It tried to steer the Six-Party Talks toward a comprehensive solution to this problem, as […]

Yoko Hirose

Hwasong-15, Moonshine Policy, Otto Warmbier, Six-Party Talks, state sponsor of terrorism
December 5, 2017 Open Forum
Sanctions and Nuclear Weapons are Changing North Korea

Sanctions are changing North Korea but not in ways expected by the world community imposing them, or by the Kim regime that is fighting them. Clearly, they have […]

William B. Brown

Byongjin, Economic sanctions, Juche, secondary sanctions, UN Security Council Resolution 2375
November 23, 2017 Alternative Scenarios
Negative Scenario II

Despite my role as a skeptic in the pairing of alternative scenarios, the need for objectivity demands that I acknowledge that I share most of the arguments advanced […]

Ivan Zuenko

19th Congress, Almazbek Atambaev, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Shavkat Mirziyoyev
November 15, 2017 Country Reports
Country Report: South Korea (November 2017)

From September to November of 2017, South Korean news editorials discussed Trump and Moon’s UN speeches and the growing dissonance in their approaches toward North Korea. They also […]

Eun A Jo

APEC, KORUS FTA, Moon-Xi summit, Trump-Moon summit, Trump-Xi Summit, UN General Assembly
November 10, 2017 Alternative Scenarios
Positive Scenario II

In his negative scenario 1, Ivan Zuenko reviewed several possible factors that could substantially worsen Sino-Russian relations in general, including activation of latent Chinese claims to Russian territory […]

Richard Weitz

"Belt and Road" Initiative, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Shavkat Mirziyoyev