Function-Process Model: East Asian Integration Process And China's Strategic Choice

Since the 70s of the 20th century, economic globalization and regional integration have became two parallel trends. Especially after the Cold War, new forms of regional integration have emerged along with the second wave of promotion in regional economic cooperation, the most obvious manifestation is East Asia integration.The financial crisis in 1997 destroyed the economic construction of East Asian countries, especially Southeast Asian countries. The crisis gave pressure to East Asian countries and made them fully understood the necessity of improving regional cooperation. Oder theory could not explain the development of East Asian integration process. According some views of regionalism, Integration process could emerge in the nations which are in the similar level of economic development and have the same system of value and culture. So integration process could not emerge in East Asia which have big gap in the level of economic development and have different values.Some scholars start deeper research with insufficient of theory. They try to build a new theory to explain East Asia integration process. Domestic scholars proposed Process Model of East Asia integration. Process Model have the views that process is the key point to maintain the East Asia integration and process is not only a means but also a purpose. Process Model emphasize importance of process in East Asia integration. Behavior body enter one social process because of interest. Once it enter the process where it is integrating and be integrated. Behavior body still consider interest, but the considering dose not mean it could get out of process. Process Model believe keeping East Asia process is more important than getting results without clear power and conception and institution in East Asia areas which have lower homogeneous.Compared older theory, Process Model have advantage in explaining East Asia integration. It emphasizes significance of process, but it dose not explain how to keep the process. According to analysis Process Model, author proposed Function—Process Model by adding function. Function—Process Model mainly offset insufficient of Process Model about how to keep the process. Function—Process believe functional cooperation is the key point to keep the process. Behavior body get interest in functional cooperation and have more will of continuing cooperation. Continuous cooperation means keeping process. Besides functional process have spillover effect. Integration could not only emerge in specific economic department and it will spillover other departments involving more behavior body. Because of expanding logic, integration build pressure from economy to politic and society. The pressure improve the development of integration.China as a regional power in East Asia areas, have an active attitude to the development of East Asia integration. China and other East Asia nations get interest in numerous cooperation. Both of them have confidence to the future. It is estimated that cooperation between China and other East Asia nations could get deeper development. Chinese identity is East Asia power which undertake duty and maintain peace with neighboring nations. China should make a strategic choice by the identity in the East Asia integration process. China should continue to participate and maintain the East Asian integration process and seek to play a more active role in the East Asia integration process.