The Study On The Rise Of New Regionalism And Its Development In East Asia

The development of new regionalism and globalism is the trend of contemporary economy, society and politics at present and in the future. After two world wars, the opposition of ideology between capitalist and socialist camp appeared in the world, the globalism represented by the GATT made much greater progress than the regionalism in the world economy structure. The fierce competition all over the world promoted the new regionalism as the mainstream till the world entered the post cold war of early 1990s. The three largest regional cooperation organizations in the world are European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and Asia and Pacific Economic Cooperation Organization (APEC), of which EU is more integrated with a longer history. Not only is the buildup of united market for the free access of personnel, goods, labor and capital, but also the united monetary system. At the same time, EU is a politics and security union as well. In America, the NAFTA established by US, Canada and Mexico is now spreading towards the entire Latin America. The Free Trade Area of America (FTAA) is expected to come to birth by the end of 2005. However, the development of new regionalism in East Asia lags far more behind than in the Europe and America, partly caused by the existing struggle between the sorts of regionalism featured by the development of APEC and the goal for the East Asia economy integration. The article about the rise of new regionalism and its development in East Asia reviews the rise, decay and revive of regionalism during the past fifty years in the perspective of history without the restriction of traditional welfare analysis. It is pointed out that the success of regionalism depends on the harmony of common interest, the coordination of institution arrangement and competition mechanics, the balance of rights and responsibilities and the proper development pattern. After the cold war, the new regionalism, featured by the economical combination between the developed and developing countries as well as the deepening of cooperation, has been popular with the great transformation of world economy and politics situation as the result of the relatively decline of US economy, the rise of new protectionism, the strengthening of multi-pole tendency and the paradigm of EU. Therefore, the world economy is thrown into the interaction between the complicated and contradictive trends. Globalism promotes the improvement of international relationship of politics, socio-economy and culture, as well as the liquidity of goods, labor and capital with making the different countries more interdependent. As a response to the non-balance development of globalism, new regionalism may offset partial negative effects and cut down the costs of globalism, helping to reduce the influence of extreme national interest on the government, on the condition that the developing countries are ensured to join in the beneficial regional integrating process involved by the main world economy centre, and to choose the proper development pattern according to the development level and conditions respectively. The practice of new regionalism shows that it could be proved an effective approach to fill the gap between developed and developing countries.As for East Asia, influenced by the rise of new protectionism with the regional integration in Europe and America, the impeded multilateral free trade negotiation, the shock of East Asia financial crisis, the traditional non-institutionalized cooperation has been not suitable for the great change in the world and regional economy. What is more, the development of industry among East Asia countries has shown the similarity accompanied in industry structure by the less complement and more competition. The potential mutual trade friction is more possible than ever before. The East Asia countries are demanded to explore positively the new pattern of regional cooperation by the evolvement of East Asia economy situation, to avoid losing regional advantages and initiatives in the global econom...