Korea, China and Japan: Their trade with the world and its impact on new Asian regionalism ASEAN+ 3 (original) (raw)

2002, Faculty of Commerce-Economics Working Papers

Success of recent developments in Asian economic regionalism and free trade agreements depends to some significant extent on the continuing role and importance of trade of these economies with themselves and also with the world's major trading blocs. The paper reviews especially the case of Korea, Japan and China's interest in new Asian economic regionalism and FTAs, surveys particularly its important trends in international trade in the past 35 years and discusses how these trends and patterns will affect the Asian 3's growth and provide the background for more effective implementation of ASEAN+3 or even ASEAN+5 or similar bilateral, pluri-lateral and multilateral regional economic integrations in the long term. 2 Genesis of the Expanded ASEAN The ASEAN+3 proposal, also known as the Young-Ho Kim proposal, named after Korea's former Minister of Commerce who first put it forward, was first discussed in the mid 1990s. A number of factors can be attributed to its emergence. First, it was the result of decades of fast growth and a number of economic, financial and restructuring developments in North East Asia and in other major trading blocs in the world. Second, it was the result of developments and shifts in focus in North America and the European Union in the aftermath of the damaging Asia crisis starting in Thailand in July 1997 and its subsequent contagion to a number of 'once miracle' economies in East and South East Asia, the USSR, and to a lesser extent, North and South Americas and the European Union (EU). Third, it was the result of a benign neglect from such international organizations as the IMF or the economic power of North America and the EU on the plights of crisis countries in Asia and their lack of interest in seriously helping to solve the economic, financial and social problems arising from the Asia crisis. In 2001 and early in 2002, other new developments in East and South East Asia (for example, the quick recovery and recurring growth in Korea and the continuing stagnant state of the world's second largest economy, namely Japan) gained prominence and gave rise to a number of new Asian economic integrations or regionalisms (NARs) and Asian FTAs. These NARs and FTAs are currently indeed numerous and proliferating at an amazing speed at the behest of government leaders especially in the Asian region. They include, to name a few, ASEAN+3,