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
China links: House of Cards, property bubble, the nine dash line, bird flu and more
Jeff Bader of Brookings writes that the US was correct to explicitly reject China's so-called nine dash line in the South China Sea.  The Chinese government has handled the…
Meet Indonesia's middle class
This is the first post in a four-part series on Indonesia's growing middle class. It's 6:15am on a Sunday morning, and waves of people are breaking over the Sudirman traffic…
China links: Aid to Africa, Winter Olympics, universities, North Korea relations and more
China's aid to Africa: Monster or messiah? A look at the books that matter to Politburo Standing Committee member Wang Qishan. Beijing's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics formally…
China links: Max Baucus, Shaanxi Gang, pollution, Kyrgyzstan, Weibo and more
From rickshaws to Audis: China's misuse of public vehicles in the 20th century.   35 years experience in the US Congress could help new US Ambassador to China Max Baucus bridge…
Northeast Asia's turbulent triangle: Korea-China-Japan relations
Reports
Northeast Asia's turbulent triangle: Korea-China-Japan relations
In this workshop report Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Dr Malcolm Cook examines the bilateral relationships in Northeast Asia. He argues that ties between China and Japan,…
China links: Snow polo, Burma, fracking, graveyard prices and more
Snow polo is growing in popularity among China's one-percenters. Why the US needs to stop playing peacemaker and start making China feel uncomfortable.  Tang Xiaoying argues that…
China links: One child policy, soft power in North Korea, Central Asia, the Congo and more
How so-called 'leading small groups' help Xi Jinping and other party leaders exert power.  A US admiral concedes that China is encroaching on US dominance in the Pacific: 'Our…
New year, old quarrels in China-Japan relations
Sino-Japanese relations got off to a rocky start in January.  Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming kicked off a tit for tat diplomatic spat on the first day of the year. In…
China links: Chang'e-3, that business card, Long March by bike, the Silk Road and more
A senior Chinese official from the Deng Xiaoping era reflects on reform in the 1980s and now. The route to a better relationship between China and Britain lies along the Silk…
No circuit breaker in sight in East China Sea
In my concluding thoughts on a report compiling four workshop papers about tensions in the East China Sea, published by the Lowy Institute on 7 January, I note that it is…