ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to assess whether recent Chinese diplomatic conduct has contributed to the development of regionalism in the regional context of Northeast Asia. To make such an assessment in light of Chinese diplomatic endeavors, it is critical and imperative to accept the following hypothetical propositions. First, the regionalism examined here is a general concept of regionalism. It does not, and should not, entail any specific definition or form of regionalism that has been widely discussed by many in recent times (e.g. “open regionalism,” “bloc regionalism,” “developmental regionalism,” or “participatory regionalism”) because there has not been any of such taken place in the region. Thus, the chapter rather applies a general concept of regionalism, and that is why its title is entitled “Northeast Asia regionalism,” instead of “Northeast Asian regionalism.”
