Time:2010/12/20 

Jointly organized by the School of International Studies, Peking University and the Center for International and Strategic Studies, an international conference on ‘The Asia-Pacific Order and US-China Relations’ was held at Peking University from 10-11 December, 2010. The conference forms part of an on-going collaborative research project on East Asian security between five leading universities: Korea University, National University of Singapore (NUS), Peking University, Princeton University and University of Tokyo. 

More than thirty leading scholars from the five universities attended the conference, including the Republic of Korea’s former minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Dr. Han Sung-joo, former Singaporean Ambassador to the United Nations and Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS, Professor Kishore Mahbubani, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Professor Thomas J. Christensen. The Chairman of the China-United States Exchange Foundation and Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mr. Tung Chee Hwa, attended the reception dinner on December 10th and gave a keynote address on Sino-US relations and developments in the Asian-Pacific region. 

During the two-day conference, scholars engaged in candid and in-depth discussions about regional hotspot issues, regional security architecture and the future of Sino-US relations. The conference was shaped by debate about the balance of power within the region, with many noting that although the global economic crisis had accelerated Asia’s rise, the shape of the future regional order was far from clear. Many noted that security and cooperation issues had become more complex and difficult to manage. Discussions focused on the ongoing crisis on the Korean Peninsula, the implications of China’s rise, disputes in both the East and South China Seas, and domestic political trends across the region, including the growth of nationalism. 

Different opinions were voiced about the supposed emergence of a more “assertive” Chinese foreign policy over the past 18 months. Whilst some scholars argued that such claims do not stand up empirically, others suggested that the perception of “assertiveness” was nevertheless important. Certainly concerns in the region about China’s growing military and economic prowess are encouraging states to strengthen cooperation and alliances with the United States, which is itself looking to reassert its strategic presence in the region. Hopes were expressed that China can clearly signal its determination to follow a path of “peaceful development” by deploying the type of deft and innovative diplomacy it did from the late 1990s. 

What appears to be emerging in the Asia-Pacific, some suggested, was a regional order marked by a dual hierarchy in which states rely increasingly on China on economic issues but maintain their reliance on the United States in security terms. The shape of the future regional order will therefore depend, not only on the US-China bilateral relationship, but how key regional powers – Japan, South Korea, India and ASEAN – choose to develop their own balancing/bandwagoning strategies in navigating between the two “giants”. Helpful in developing a basis for more stable regional security order, participants argued, will be cooperation on non-traditional security issues, such as energy security, environmental protection and civil society. 

The conference was followed by a public event held at the School of International Studies, where a panel of select participants spoke to an audience of more than 300. Hosted by Professor Dean Wang Jisi, the public event lasted for more than two hours and was attended by scholars, students, and both local and foreign media. 

This is the second meeting between the five universities involved in the collaborative research project on East Asian security, with the inaugural workshop of this five-year partnership hosted by Princeton University on December 11-12, 2009. The third meeting is scheduled to be held at the University of Tokyo next year.