At the same time, the rapidly growing Chinese economy will provide a driving force for the expansion of regional economic co-operation in Asia.
Since the 1990s, economic globalization and regionalization have become an important trend in the global economy. About two-thirds of the total trade volume of the world is now conducted between regional trade blocs, for example. The European and North American free trade zones are good examples of regional economic co-operation.
However, regional economic co-operation in East Asia is making little progress. This is largely because Japan, the most powerful economy in the region, has been dragging its feet on the issue.
On the one hand, the strengthening of regional economic co-operation in East Asia helps Japan expand its overseas market in the region and bring down production costs via making investments in this region.
But on the other hand, Japan tightly protects its domestic farm produce, animal husbandry and aquatic markets against competing products from other East Asian countries.
This is compounded by its reluctance to see that China plays a major role in the East Asian regional economic co-operation.
Yet, something subtle is brewing now.
Recently, Japan has adopted a more positive stance towards regional co-operation in East Asia because China's push for regional co-operation, with the backing of its fast-developing economy, exercises huge pressure on Japan.
Subjectively, Japan adopts a more positive attitude towards regional co-operation, apparently not willing to see China become a predominant force in this regard.
Objectively, however, a favourable situation could arise from this - China and Japan become the "twin engines" powering economic development in the area and making East Asia one of the poles in the "tripod" of the world's three major regional economic entities, along with the European Union and North American free trade zones.
Despite that there is still a long way to go to bring about East Asian economic integration, and that unseen snags and resistance are in store for us on the way ahead, the enormous benefits of regional economic co-operation will keep pushing all parties involved to move towards the goal.
The author is a columnist for Beijing News
