China and ASEAN: Pivoting Trade and Shock Transmission

This book highlights the critical relationship between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) associated with its trade interdependency. As the largest trade partner in the region, China has not only presented itself with opportunities for ASEAN to tap its market, but also created great challenges for the region. The fundamental question that this book addresses, therefore, is whether China’s engagement with ASEAN comes at a cost for the latter following from the systemic risks tied to the China-centric supply chains in the region. The trade interactions between China and ASEAN, though extensively explored, are less understood in the context of its influence over the region amidst the recent changing dynamics that follow from China’s global engagement and backlash from major powers. The book therefore resolutely rises against stereotypes and clichés, making readers reconsider many oversimplified assumptions of the benefits of trade engagement where economies are interconnected through complex production chains. 

Chapter 1. China in ASEAN.- Chapter 2. Interdependent Trade Relationship.- Chapter 3. Trade Shocks and Resiliency.- Chapter 4. Vulnerability of the Food Sector.- Chapter 5. Conclusion

Mala Raghavan is Senior Lecturer in Macroeconomics at the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania (UTAS) and Research Associate at the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA), Australian National University and Asia Institute Tasmania, UTAS, and a Visiting Research Fellow to Bank Negara Malaysia. Prior to joining the University of Tasmania in July 2011, she held academic positions at Monash University and RMIT University. She has more than 25 years of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at various universities across two continents – Australia and Asia (Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong). Mala's research and teaching interests are in the areas of Macroeconomic Policies and International Economics with particular focus on Asian economies. Her research agenda is mainly to understand the dynamics of global economic and financial integration, the effects of various international shocks on small open economies and the effectiveness of macroeconomic policies in mitigating these shocks.   

Faisal Khan is Lecturer in Finance and Accounting at the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania. He is also a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) and is Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA). He has extensive experience in the finance industry and academia in both Australia and Pakistan. His teaching and research experience extends over eight years. His current research work focuses on the evolution of international trade and its implications on Asian economies. He has been involved in various research projects, covering foreign investments, the emergence of China and the transmission of trade shocks across Asia Pacific economies. 

Evelyn S. Devadason is Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya. Her experience in teaching and research spans 25 years. Her research focuses on international trade and regional integration. Her research work has seen print in international journals, such as the World Development, The China Review, India Review, The Pacific Review, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Journal of Contemporary China, Journal of International Development, Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Asian Economic Journal, Global Economic Review, Singapore Economic Review, Social Indicators Research, among others. She currently serves as Editor-In-Chief to the Institutions and Economies journal, Associate Editor to the International Journal of Social Economics and a member to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Contemporary Asia. She has been engaged in a number of international research projects, including the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions-Asian and Pacific Regional Organization (ICFTU-APRO), Asian Development Bank Institute, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Economic Research Institute of East Asia-United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (ERIA-UNCTAD), Food Industry Asia, United Nations Environment Programme-Denmark Technical University (UNEP-DTU) and more recently the European Union H2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme on Competing Regional Integration in Southeast Asia.