July 9th, 2008 |
ewdialogue
What’s on offer for ASEAN-U.S. cooperation under ASEAN’s Blueprint for an ASEAN Economic Community?
In the next issue of the East-West Dialogue, How (and Why) the United States Should Help to Build the ASEAN Economic Community, Michael Plummer (EWC and Johns Hopkins University) calls for ambitious new initiatives, leading to a U.S.-ASEAN Economic Space and a U.S.-ASEAN Partnership Fund to deepen civic and cultural ties. These ideas are expanded in commentaries by Surin Pitsuwan (Secretary General of ASEAN), Scot Marciel (U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN), Kishore Mahbubani (former Singapore ambassador to the UN) , and Chalongphob Sussangkorn (former Thai Minister of Finance).
Plummer argues that ASEAN is so important to US economic diplomacy that it deserves special attention. A successful ASEAN economy of 585 million people will strengthen, balance, and stabilize the economic architecture of the Asia Pacific region. The commentators agree the relationship is vital. They offer further suggestions and confirm that gains from a deeper partnership are mutual and that the region is receptive to US initiatives.
September 1st, 2007 |
ewdialogue
Charles E. Morrison
President, East-West Center
Peter A. Petri
Senior Fellow of the East-West Center; Carl Shapiro Professor and former Dean of the Brandeis International Business School
The rise of China, India, and other Asian nations is creating a new “core” of the world economy centered on the Pacific. It is essential for the United States to remain vigorously engaged in this region, yet the climate of our relations with Asian partners is cooling. The United States and Asia[*] have yet to find a way to cooperate effectively on any significant global issue. This dilemma, we argue, requires urgent attention on both sides of the Pacific, and specifically a U.S. strategy that features innovative civil diplomacy alongside official initiatives. (more…)
September 1st, 2007 |
ewdialogue
The United States has one of the lowest ratios of “outward student mobility” (0.2%) in the world. In 2005, approximately 590,000 foreign students enrolled in higher education in the United States, but only 190,000 Americans were studying abroad. Flows are also sharply imbalanced by region. For each American student in Asia, 20 Asians come to the United States. Most Americans go to Europe. There are good reasons for imbalances — the strength of American universities and the rich cultural assets of Europe quickly come to mind — but increased American exposure to Asian countries would be an obvious plus for civil diplomacy. (See figure.) (more…)
September 1st, 2007 |
ewdialogue
Taeho Bark
Chairman of the Korea International Trade Commission; Dean, Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Seoul National University
East Asian countries began to enter into regional trade agreements (RTAs) relatively late. Although they have been expanding such agreements since the late 1990s, their shift toward regionalism has failed thus far to catch the attention of the world economic community. Most intraregional agreements have been “shallow” in scope and depth, whereas more of the trade agreements concluded by the outward-looking East Asian countries have been interregional. (more…)
September 1st, 2007 |
ewdialogue
Peter Drysdale
Emeritus Professor and Head of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, Crawford School of Economics and Government; Former Executive Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre
Renewal of America’s partnership with Asia was never more important than it is today. But the scale and structure of the changes that are taking place in Asia require more than trying to restore an old order, however well it served American and global interests over the past six decades. Arguably reinvention not renewal of America’s relations with Asia alone will suffice. (more…)
September 1st, 2007 |
ewdialogue
Shen Dingli
Director of the Center for American Studies; Executive Dean of the Institute of International Affairs, Fudan University
The present-day quest for productivity and profit, especially through manufacturing, has led players around the globe to find efficient ways to trade their strengths. China and India are seeking capital, technology, and markets in the West. The West in turn is outsourcing some of its labor needs, to take advantage of low costs in Asia. In the globalizing economy, both America and major Asian countries are relying on mutually beneficial pragmatism rather than potentially divisive ideology. (more…)
September 1st, 2007 |
ewdialogue
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East-West Dialogue, a project of the East-West Center, fosters discussion and debate of key issues in Asia-U.S. economic relations. The Dialogue seeks to develop and promote innovative policy, business, and civic initiatives to enhance this critical partnership.
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