Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
4-2021
Abstract
The US-China economic interactions will have profound ramifications for the world. The article explores the following questions: what is the path forward for US-China economic interactions? What are its implications? It argues that selective engagement is the possible future path for US-China economic interactions. Selective engagement involves selective focuses, which currently are an unprecedented emphasis on market access, and delegalized implementation. Selective engagement contrasts sharply with deep free trade agreements that focus on regulatory disciplines and legalized dispute settlement. Selective engagement carries profound implications, ranging from rule vacuum and inconsistency, increased protection and economic disintegration, to the marginalization of multilateralism. Essentially, selective engagement is a “different animal” from previous trade practices, and could be a game changer in international economic order. The US-China interaction is highly mutable, and selective engagement may change over time.
Keywords
Free trade agreements, Selective engagement, The Belt and Road Initiative, Trade war; US-China Phase One agreement
Discipline
Asian Studies | International Economics | International Trade Law
Research Areas
Public International Law, Regional and Trade Law
Publication
Journal of World Trade
Volume
55
Issue
2
First Page
309
Last Page
334
ISSN
1011-6702
Publisher
Kluwer Law International
Citation
WANG, Heng.
Selective engagement? Future path for US-China economic relations and its implications. (2021). Journal of World Trade. 55, (2), 309-334.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4460
Copyright Owner and License
Publisher
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.