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Hu, Richard Weixing --- "China, the US and Regional Institution Building in East Asia" [2011] ELECD 463; in Buckley, P. Ross; Hu, Weixing Richard; Arner, W. Douglas (eds), "East Asian Economic Integration" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: East Asian Economic Integration

Editor(s): Buckley, P. Ross; Hu, Weixing Richard; Arner, W. Douglas

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849808682

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: China, the US and Regional Institution Building in East Asia

Author(s): Hu, Richard Weixing

Number of pages: 18

Extract:

1. China, the US and regional
institution building in East Asia
Richard Weixing Hu

INTRODUCTION

China and the United States are two key players in shaping future East
Asian regional order and institutions. For a long time after World War
II, East Asia was perceived as being institutionally underdeveloped with
no region-wide political and economic institutional structure, except an
American-centered network of bilateral security treaties. Yet, after the
Cold War and especially after the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997­98,
a rising tide of regionalism and institution-building projects appeared.
There is a proliferation of regional groupings and dialogues, ranging
from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN+3 and the East Asia Summit (EAS)
to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). East Asian nations are
organizing themselves into an `alphabet soup' of multilateral groupings
and organizations with overlapping membership and different mandates.
This makes people wonder what kind of regional order East Asia is
building and what role China and the US will play in regional institution
building.
China is a rising power on the global and regional stage. China's ascent
and its growing influence in East Asia have important bearings on regional
order and regional institutional building. Yet, how China comes to terms
with regional institutions is still an issue under debate. In order to rise
peacefully, China needs a stable and prosperous regional environment
for concentrating on its growth. Meanwhile, Beijing also wants to engage
in regional institution building ...