Beijing workshop: Northeast Asian political and security dynamics in flux

The workshop focused on political and security relations between China and South Korea, China and Japan as well as the broader dynamics in Northeast Asia as viewed from Australia. An overarching aim of the workshop was to understand the interactions between the rise of China, the regional security challenge posed by North Korea, the rebalancing toward Asia by the United States, as well as tensions in China–Japan relations and Japan-South Korea relations.

The workshop was hosted by the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in collaboration with the BHP Billiton Chair of Australian Studies, Peking University. It was the first of a series of three workshops and forms part of a broader research, outreach and publication project. The project examines and contrasts Australian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese perceptions of the political and security implications of China's rise in Northeast Asia. The participants included some of the most well-informed experts from Australia, China, South Korea and Japan, for example, Dr Kang Choi of Asan Institute, Professor Jae Ho Chung of Seoul University,  and Professor Wang Jisi of Peking University. 

A report will be published by the Lowy Institute after the conclusion of the project. An agenda, list of participants at the workshop and background information about the workshop and the project are available.

Workshops were also held in Seoul on 24 September and Tokyo on 27 September.