Korea-US-China Trilateral Relations in the Xi Jinping Era

Duck Koo Chung is a former Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Energy of the Republic of Korea during President Kim Dae-Jung's administration (1999-2000). He is also the founder of the North East Asia Research Foundation (NEAR Foundation), South Korea's premier privately-funded independent think-tank, and currently serves as its chairman. After retirement from the cabinet, Chung became a professor at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) at Seoul National University and served as the director of the Seoul National University Center for International Finance. In 2003, Peking University in China invited him as a Distinguished Chair Professor, where he taught Korean Economic Development and Open-Door Policy. In 2005, he served as a visiting professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing, where he taught the International Monetary Regime and the future prospects of the yuan. In 2013, he was appointed as a policy advisor at CASS (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences). During the early years of Xi Jinping's first term, the Chinese government recommended that Mr. Chung lead special lectures and academic seminars involving distinguished policymakers, bureaucrats, and high-ranking officials from 18 government departments. Presently, he is based at the Center for Strategies and International Studies (CSIS) as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow.

This comprehensive volume on the full range of trilateral challenges confronting the Republic of Korea, the People’s Republic of China, and the United States – with special attention to the impact of Xi Jinping and his China Dream - is both a must-read and ready reference for policy makers operating within the context of great power strategic competition. Focusing on the essential, if understudied, trilateral relationship of the ROK-U.S.-PRC, the volume offers valuable and frank insights for the United States and China, from the unique perspective of a global pivotal state - the ROK. The editors, two of Korea’s most distinguished public servants and thought leaders, have done a great service for leaders and citizens throughout the region.