ABSTRACT
Economic security has arguably become the top priority across the Asia-Pacific region. This chapter illustrates, China and Japan compete in a number of areas – namely trade agreements, development aid, and infrastructure development. It analyses three areas of economic activity in which the Asia-Pacific regional security complex (RSC) is characterized by enmity and rivalry between China and Japan. The chapter focuses on finance, and the extent to which amity and an undeclared alliance characterize the RSC in this area. It explains how China and Japan are moving towards amity and agreement in the areas of development banks. The Sino-Japanese rivalry takes many different forms and economic competition is among the most important. The securitization of the RSC in the areas of trade, official development assistance (ODA), and infrastructure has led to enmity between China and Japan. Enmity and competition are most notable in the areas of trade agreements, development aid, and infrastructure-building.
