The Evolution Of East Asia’s Economic Integration

The development of international trade and the expansion of world market which finally break the boundaries among nations is the result of the development of productivity. Although some studies focus on the lessons from the integration of EU which built on more elaborate division of labor and therefore can benefit from economies of scale, the earliest theories of regional integration roots in the division of labor and the level of integration can be explained by the degree of specialization of labor. When we retrace the process of the economic integration of Eastern Asia, it not only reflect how the economies of Eastern Asia participated in international division of labor, but also how they are linked together by market forces which is in fact the original and main power of the regional integration of Eastern Asia. The present situation of economic cooperation in Eastern Asia and its unique development path are inextricably tied. With time and development of economy, the world economic environment changed and the driving force may recede and will eventually affect the path and degree of economic integration in Eastern Asia.The dynamic process eastern Asian economies went through during the past decades is also the process of regional integration drove by market force. It is a process of ensuing miracles happened in eastern Asian and during these periods the economies followed a similar model during their economic development process and became increasingly connected with each other. The integration process of Eastern Asia is the result of combined forces of market and agreements deliberately arranged by governments. The former implies in the phases of their economic development and the later is the result of the more and more tight relationship among the economies, because this model is a process of accumulation of advantages and a process of more elaborate division of labor. This paper illustrate its influence on the regional integration by listing the pros and cons. The former contains the echelon pattern, the more elaborate network of production, the tighter trade relations among economies and all the process contributing the transition from functional integration to institutional integration. The later can boil down to the dependence on external market, the competition within the region and the technical constrains. All these constrains will impede the further development of functional integration as well as the formation of an independent free trade area. After the Asian financial crisis, the export-led feature and the dynamic process need adjustment in the future, which may direct the way of regional integration of Eastern Asia. And by participating the intra-regional division of labor and trade, China should play a more important role in the adjustment process and thus the economic integration of Eastern Asia.