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China and Competing Cooperation in Asia-Pacific: TPP, RCEP, and the New Silk Road

104

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2015

Year

TLDR

The paper examines how China’s growing economic power and initiatives such as the Belt and Road, the Trans‑Pacific Partnership, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership shape regional security dynamics in Asia‑Pacific. It aims to map China’s perspectives on the TPP, RCEP, and the Silk Road. The authors use field surveys and documentary analysis to construct this roadmap. Their analysis reveals how China responds to regional contestation and the implications for the region.

Abstract

A big question looming large over policy and theory in Asian security is how China will use its newfound wealth and power in the region and with what consequences. The United States has concluded the negotiation of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); ASEAN has promoted the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Both frameworks seek to shape China’s regional behavior and manage rising China. In late 2013, China inaugurated the new Silk Road initiative, which has rapidly gained momentum in the country and among China’s neighbors. American public and policy makers, however, are largely unaware or baffled by the new Silk Road. The article, based on field surveys and extensive documentary analysis, provides the first roadmap on how China views TPP, RCEP, and the new Silk Road. It offers important exploration of how China acts and reacts to regional contestation and what are implications for the region.