Tumen River Area Development Program: Policy Choice And Development Prospects

Tumen River Area is located in the border areas among China, Russia, North Korea. It is theheart of the Northeast Asia, which has a unique geographical advantage. Since the end of the ColdWar, the Tumen River Area is located in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, exit-entry strictadministration has posed on that area, thus the area is underdeveloped and closed. The TumenRiver Cooperation Project will not only change the backward situation of China, North Korea andRussia border crossing area, but also promote the economy of the Northeast Asian Region in theway of wide and in-depth development. It is said that the major breakthrough of the NortheastAsia Regional Economic Integration.The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has proposed the Tumen River AreaDevelopment Project(TRADP) in the early1990s. This area is located in the Northeast Asia wherehas greatly potential value for the multinational economic impact and of mutual benefit in win-winsituations. Till now,20years later, the slow progress of the Tumen River Area DevelopmentProject, the effect is not obvious. The Tumen River Area Development After had encountered upsand downs of development; it seemed to us that China has played a major role in determining theinitiative of the plan. The intention behind the Chinese government move defended against Japan’sregionalism strategy and instability on the Korean Peninsula. The political motives of the Chineseauthorities were weakened by1997Asian financial crisis and the prolonged recession of theJapanese economy. The incentive of the Tumen River Area Development has also been reduced.Entering the2000s, China is trying to advocate the Greater Tumen development projects in linkingwith the strategy of revitalizing Northeast, thus demonstrating a renewed interest in thedevelopment of the Tumen River Area Cooperation. Yet the DPRK’s nuclear test and the hesitationof Russian policies, Tumen River Area Development failed to achieve substantive results. Sincethe outbreak of2008world financial crisis, the Chinese government began to try to induce Russiaand North Korea to echo the Tumen River Development Plan. It seemed to us that she take arelatively strong position to put forward the Tumen River Area Development, it remarked a newera of development.In future, Chinese authorities play positive role in leading the development of the TumenRiver Area. To the neighboring countries, it brings along both positive and negative significance.Tumen River Area surrounding countries must strive to solve the problem so far as to reduce theinstability impact of North Korea in the region by turning the closed nature of the security andeconomic environment to the new economic cooperation and development so as to gain win-win cooperation benefiting all countries.This article focuses on the historical process of the development of multilateral cooperationTumen River area and change of Chinese authorities initiatives, the attitude and positions of thedifferent parties of the surrounding country, and discuss about the obstacles of pre-developmentfactors and analyze about problem arising from the implementation of the principles and policies.It also proposes future possible solution and the selection of model against the problem.Meanwhile, the paper also stressed the important function of future Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI)is to induce North Korea to change its own policy, the development of the domestic economy andto stabilize the situation in the region.