Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
International trade and investment lifts living standards. The evidence for this is irrefutable. And modern economic development is not possible without opening up to international markets, competition and capital.
Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
How to respond to China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
In Beijing yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted a global summit on his Belt and Road Initiative under the aegis of the National Development Reform Commission’s (NDRC) China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), NDRC’s top think tank. This is part of a massive exercise in international diplomatic communication.
A new Moon rising in South Korea’s election
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
South Korea goes to the polls on 9 May to elect a new president in the wake of the impeachment of Park Geun-hye. The saga surrounding Park’s fall from grace has built expectations for reforms to strengthen democratic institutions and stamp out corruption, as the vote takes place against the backdrop of concerns about tensions with North Korea. Read more…
Questions about Japan’s constitution after 70 years
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
The 70th anniversary of Japan’s constitution on Wednesday 3 May has piqued global interest in the contentious debate around the Abe administration’s proposals for the constitution’s revision. Some call for modernisation of the document, but there is also widespread concern that the changes being pursued by the Abe government are borne out of an ideological rather than a practical policy agenda for change. Read more…
Trump’s threat to the global trade regime undermines economic and political security
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
Last Thursday Donald Trump declared steel imports to the United States were a threat to US national security. Read more…
Does policy performance trump identity in Indonesia?
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
When the rule of strongman Suharto gave way to democracy in 1998, many worried that such a tremendously diverse society as Indonesia’s could not be contained within the bounds of a decentralised, competitive democracy.
Trump’s North Korea conundrum
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
Since North Korea declared its intention to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1993, the international community has worked overtime trying to denuclearise the isolated state.