ADRN

On October 6th, the East Asia Institute (EAI) and San Francisco’s Asia Society held an open seminar on “The Architecture of Trade: Asia and the Future of Economic Integration” and a closed door seminar on “Prospects for Economic Integration in Asia-Pacific and Its Geo-political Implications.” This conference was organized with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purpose of idea exchange between the Korean delegation, made up of elite academics and government officials, and influential members of the U.S. private sector. This conference focused on three topics: the status of regional trade agreements in Asia and their geo-political implications, views of economic integration, and the role of middle power nations including South Korea. The presenters analyzed the state of regional cooperation and gave their views on the outlook, and also engaged in one-on-one debates about investment in China’s infrastructure, policy, and establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), while touching on subjects such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Regarding the specific role of South Korea, the participants discussed such varied topics as, Korea’s countermeasures for trade capacity building, the effect of Sino-Korean relations on U.S. politics, the policy implications of South Korea’s presence at China’s Victory Day Parade and North Korea’s exclusion, and South Korea’s entry into AIIB. This was followed by a question and answer time when other topics were discussed, including the effect of the global economic downturn on TPP, the political motivation of TPP members, TPP and RCEP, and a South Korea-China-Japan FTA.

Program

17:30-18:00	Registration
18:00-18:03	Welcoming Remarks N. Bruce Pickering, Executive Director of the Northern California Chapter, Asia Society
18:03-19:10	Discussion    Moderator T.J. Pempel, Professor, University of California, Berkley   Discussants Vinod Aggarwal, Professor, University of California, Berkley Eun Seok Kim, Ambassador for Energy and Resources, MOFA Seungjoo Lee, Professor, Chung-Ang University
19:10-19:30	Question and Answer
19:45-20:00	Break
20:00-21:30	Closed Door Discussion   Discussants Eun Seok Kim, Ambassador for Energy and Resources, MOFA Byeong Kwon Sohn, Professor, Chung-Ang University Seungjoo Lee, Professor, Chung-Ang University Chaesung Chun, Professor, Seoul National University and Chair of the Asia Security Initiative Research Center, EAI