Programs & Projects

The North Asia Program

The China and East Asia Program

The China and East Asia Program conducts research on the politics and foreign policy of China and its immediate neighbours in Northeast Asia: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and the Korean peninsula. The program is renowned for its particular focus on China’s domestic politics and how this helps to shape its external behaviour. From 2020, the Institute’s extensive research on Southeast Asia – including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar – is now incorporated in a dedicated Southeast Asia Program. Each Program also commissions work by other scholars on the broader region. To complement their written research, Lowy Institute experts hold a robust series of dialogues and events on the politics of the region, independently and in partnership with other organisations.

Photo: Jung Yeon-Je-Pool/Getty Images

Experts
Latest publications
News and media
Abbott and SBY mend their fences
As the sun set on the Indonesian resort island of Batam yesterday, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono waited patiently with two of his ministers to greet Tony Abbott…
China links: Tiananmen special
One PLA general refused orders to take Tiananmen Square by force, saying:  'I'd rather be beheaded than be a criminal in the eyes of history'. Stephen Mcdonell writes that…
A parallel Chinese financial order
The Financial Times ran a front page piece last Monday claiming that China has ordered a ban on state-owned companies using Western management consulting companies. It is alleged…
Lopsided economic growth in the Philippines
As one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, the Philippines formalised its new status as the toast of the town among global investors by hosting (on  21-23 May) the…
Cyber espionage and US-China relations: The world's biggest candy store
Don't believe anything you read on the cyber espionage spat between US and China. Depending on who's talking, the US is a 'thief crying stop thief' and a 'mincing rascal'; or…
Chinese foreign policy: Belligerence is internally motivated
Last week, Brad Glosserman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies made the smart observation that China has recently chosen a surprisingly hard course in its…
China links: Kazakhstan, jihadists, the Sphinx, bonds, one child policy and more
Egypt complains to UNESCO over China Sphinx copycat. Yes, really. Despite increasing numbers of Japanese businesses in Shanghai, Japanese resident numbers in the city dropped 17%…
China to America: Not in our backyard
Last week was a heckuva week for China's rising power: tussling with Vietnam in the South China Sea (all about America, supposedly), signing a US$400 billion gas deal with Russia …
How competitive is China's civil aviation industry?
Reports have surfaced that the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) C919 airliner program is struggling, with first deliveries pushed back to 2018, two years later…
Weekend catch-up: Thailand special
Bringing together the best Thailand coverage from The Interpreter. A change of format this week. Usually we feature a range of our best writing from the previous week, but in…