As the Asia-Pacific region recovers from economic crisis, the area will again come to be seen as a global economic force analogous to North America and Europe. An outgrowth of the Seminar’s recent series, The Rise of Industrial East and Southeast Asia and Its Implications for the Developing World, this session will analyze the economic, political, and social/cultural factors contributing to the region’s economic recovery, and consider the area’s future as a world economic force. Particular attention will be paid to China’s recent economic growth and its role in Asia and globally; the emergence of India as a regional and global economic force; the future course of the Japanese and Korean economies; and the relationship between the three economic regions of East and Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe.

Discussion points will also include the possibility of an Asian free-trade area, the future of ASEAN and APEC; China’s effect on the world economy, and the question whether international organizations will now be forced to rethink their strategies in dealing with future economic crises.