Caught between economic opportunity and security imperatives, South Korea finds itself navigating one of Asia's most complex relationships with China. Seoul has constantly sought to calibrate the management of economic gains and security concerns, but growing U.S.-China competition complicates its options. South Korea must consider its trade and investment partnership with China, political pressure from Beijing, stability on the Korean Peninsula, regional tensions, alliance commitments with Washington, and the demands of its population. In this episode, host Ian Chong and his guest speakers from Korea explore the intricate dance of diplomacy, economics, politics, and strategy that defines Korea-China relations today.
Sung Eun Kim is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University. She is also a visiting scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, 2024-25. Injoo Sohn is Professor from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University (SNU). He is also the Deputy Director of the SNU Institute of Future Strategy and the Chair of the institute’s Global Korea Cluster.
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Calibrating China Ties - Malaysia
Malaysia has developed a reputation for hewing closely with the PRC on economic matters in recent years. Yet, it had been a big beneficiary of the de-risking and China plus One strategies undertaken by various companies from earlier rounds of the U.S.-PRC trade war by being able to tap on U.S. capital and access the U.S. market. Malaysia also ongoing territorial disputes with the PRC in the South China Sea and concerns about growing PRC domestic political influence. How does Malaysia seek to adjust among these concerns in an increasingly contested environment characterized?Join host Ian Chong as he explores these issues with two experts from Malaysia. Khoo Ying Hooi is Associate Professor of International Relations at Universiti Malaya, with research expertise in human rights, democratization, and civil society in Southeast Asia. She engages in regional and international collaborations that connect academic research with policy and advocacy, and contributes to dialogues on rights and Southeast Asia’s role in broader global shifts. Shahriman Lockman is Director (Special Projects) at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia. His research includes Malaysian foreign and defense policies, Southeast Asian maritime security affairs, Malaysia-China relations, and South China Sea issues. He manages ISIS Malaysia’s China Engagement Initiative, which promotes Malaysia-China Track-Two dialogues.
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Calibrating China Ties - Malaysia
Malaysia has developed a reputation for hewing closely with the PRC on economic matters in recent years. Yet, it had been a big beneficiary of the de-risking and China plus One strategies undertaken by various companies from earlier rounds of the U.S.-PRC trade war by being able to tap on U.S. capital and access the U.S. market. Malaysia also ongoing territorial disputes with the PRC in the South China Sea and concerns about growing PRC domestic political influence. How does Malaysia seek to adjust among these concerns in an increasingly contested environment characterized?Join host Ian Chong as he explores these issues with two experts from Malaysia. Khoo Ying Hooi is Associate Professor of International Relations at Universiti Malaya, with research expertise in human rights, democratization, and civil society in Southeast Asia. She engages in regional and international collaborations that connect academic research with policy and advocacy, and contributes to dialogues on rights and Southeast Asia’s role in broader global shifts. Shahriman Lockman is Director (Special Projects) at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia. His research includes Malaysian foreign and defense policies, Southeast Asian maritime security affairs, Malaysia-China relations, and South China Sea issues. He manages ISIS Malaysia’s China Engagement Initiative, which promotes Malaysia-China Track-Two dialogues.
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Calibrating China Ties – Japan
In this episode, Ian Chong, a nonresident scholar with Carnegie China, discusses how Japan seeks to navigate its complex economic and security ties with the People’s Republic of China. Japan’s economy has become deeply integrated with that of the PRC over decades of globalization and cooperation remains important, but mounting concerns about coercion, pressure, and tension over regional territorial disputes are currently driving a more cautious Japanese approach.Joining Ian are two specialists on Japan. Akira Igata is a project lecturer at the Economic Security Intelligence Lab, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo. Ayumi Teraoka is a fellow with the Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program and an incoming assistant professor at the Brandeis University.
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China and Myanmar
What are China’s interests in Myanmar? In this episode, Dr. Ian Chong speaks with Dr. Moe Thuzar and Dr. Shona Loong on the role China is playing in the ongoing civil war in Myanmar. They also discuss how Beijing relates to the interested parties inside and outside of Myanmar, and the cyber crime industry that has significant implications on China-Myanmar relations.Dr. Ian Chong is a nonresident scholar at Carnegie China, where he examines U.S.-China dynamics in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. He is also an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.Dr. Moe Thuzar is a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute where she coordinates the Myanmar Studies Program.Dr. Shona Loong is a senior scientist in political geography at the University of Zurich, and associate fellow with the Southeast Asian Politics and Foreign Policy program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Carnegie China’s China in the World podcast is a series of conversations between Chinese and international experts on China’s foreign policy, China’s international role, and China’s relations with the world.
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