Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Over the past half decade, economic liberalization has become a familiar and achievable prospect in Taiwan and China. This new book evaluates the economic and political benefits of China-Taiwan rapprochement. Rosen and Wang begin by surveying current cross-strait relations to assess the consequences of maintaining the status quo, particularly for the Taiwanese economy, and the political value of reunification. Rosen and Wang argue that liberalization presents a valuable opportunity for the most prominent players in this cross-strait relationship as well as other economies in the region. For the first time, both nations contemplate the possibility of essentially unlimited economic relations. What would improved relations between China and Taiwan mean for these two nations and the world? How should the US respond to further integration between these two countries? Rosen and Wang provide a much-needed investigation of the implications of geo-economic and strategic economic deepening.
Synopsis
China and Taiwan have built one of the most intertwined and important economic relationships in the world, and yet that relationship is not mutually open, compliant with World Trade Organization norms, or even fully institutionalized. What's more, despite massive trade and investment flows, the boundary between the two is a serious flashpoint for potential conflict. But leaders in Beijing and Taipei have committed to normalize and deepen their economic intercourse and open a new post-Cold War era in their relationship. While the political significance of this gambit has captured attention worldwide, the scope of opening intended and the bilateral, regional, and global effects likely to ensue are as yet poorly understood.
This volume attempts to remedy that uncertainty with careful modeling combined with a qualitative assessment of the implications of the cross-strait economic opening now agreed in an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). The study explores the implications for Taiwan and China, for their neighbors, and for the United States if this undertaking is fully implemented by 2020.