RESEARCH ON CHINA'S MOTIVATION FOR PROMOTING RCEP NEGOTIATION
Author
Su, Baoming
Term
4. term
Publication year
2020
Abstract
This thesis examines why the Xi administration actively promotes negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), an ASEAN-led free trade initiative with Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and originally India as partners. Using a neoliberal institutionalist lens, it analyzes how deep economic interdependence, the need to counter protectionism and deglobalization, and China’s domestic goals of economic restructuring and industrial upgrading together create incentives for regional cooperation. The study combines a literature review on China’s more active foreign policy and the role of international institutions with an assessment of RCEP’s institutional design, including its relationship to existing free trade agreements and the influence of the CPTPP. It highlights anticipated macro-level benefits from new regional cooperation and more specific micro-level interests linked to market access and rule-making, while identifying potential obstacles such as complex East Asian geopolitics, trust deficits, and tough bargaining dynamics. Existing studies suggest sizable economic gains for China, but the thesis emphasizes RCEP’s value as a vehicle for strengthening China’s role in rules-based regional integration and improving the climate for cooperation in Asia.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvorfor Xi-administrationen aktivt fremmer forhandlingerne om Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), et ASEAN-ledet frihandelsinitiativ med Australien, Kina, Japan, New Zealand, Sydkorea og oprindeligt Indien som partnere. Med udgangspunkt i neoliberal institutionalisme analyserer afhandlingen, hvordan høj økonomisk indbyrdes afhængighed, behovet for at modvirke protektionisme og deglobalisering samt Kinas indenlandske mål om økonomisk omstilling og industriforædling skaber incitament til regionalt samarbejde. Studiet kombinerer et litteraturreview af Kinas mere aktive udenrigspolitik og betydningen af internationale institutioner med en analyse af institutionelt design i RCEP, herunder forholdet til eksisterende frihandelsaftaler og påvirkningen fra CPTPP. Afhandlingen fremhæver forventede makrofordele ved et nyt regionalt samarbejde og mere konkrete mikrointeresser knyttet til markedsadgang og regeludformning, samtidig med at den identificerer potentielle hindringer som kompleks geopolitik i Østasien, manglende tillid og vanskelige forhandlingsprocesser. Eksisterende studier peger på betydelige økonomiske gevinster for Kina, men afhandlingen lægger især vægt på RCEP som et redskab til at styrke Kinas rolle i regelbaseret regional integration og forbedre samarbejdsklimaet i Asien.
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