%0 Journal Article
%T The Coming Chinese Century: Boon or Bane for Southeast Asia?
%A Geoffrey (Kok Heng) See
%J Michigan Journal of Business
%D 2008
%I University of Michigan
%X China¡¯s explosive growth in recent decades has come with the fear thatits cheap labor, together with its increasing prowess in science and technology, will crowd out Southeast Asian economies in both the high value-added end of the economic ladder as well as in the low value-added manufacturing sector. However, there is another view of China that rejects this new economic paradigm and the zero-sum game it implies. Here, the theory of comparative advantage in trade still holds, and instead of an economic competitor dominating the entire economic ladder, it is argued that there are complementarities in economies that allow all parties to benefit from increased onsumption. Under this view, the increased consumption of the newly prosperous Chinese consumers and of the burgeoning Chinese market will enable Southeast Asian countries to prosper from trade with China. This paper evaluates each of these viewpoints, arriving at mixed results. While there is some evidence of trade competition, data also suggests the existence of economic complementation, with Chinese growth providing opportunities for increased growth and economic integration within Southeast Asia. Furthermore, the varied economic structures of Southeast Asia mean that this impact could be different among the individual countries in this region.
%U http://www.michiganjb.org/issues/2/article2.pdf