Dragon and the Tiger Cubs: China-ASEAN Relations in Higher Education

Abstract

East Asia is gaining increasing significance in the world economy. As interdependence within the region grows, East Asian regional integration emerges. Regionalism, notably ASEAN and ASEAN + 3, offers both challenges and opportunities. Nowhere is this more apparent than with respect to China's rise, in particular the dramatic development in both quantitative and qualitative terms of its research and development system. While regionalism and its connection to globalization processes are acknowledged as being of growing importance, too little attention has been paid to the implications in Asia's Southeast, particularly in higher education. Based on an empirical study of one of China's least economically developed provinces, this chapter explores the intersection of three contemporary trends: regionalism, knowledge economies, and China's rise. It argues that regionalization could contribute substantially to internationalization, if a variety of factors are combined properly.