中國의 經濟成長과 自由貿易에 관한 고찰 ‒한･중･일을 중심으로‒

Abstract

Financial crisis starting from Europe immensely disturbed the world’s financial market. Stock market collapsed, and exchange rate skyrocketed. To make matters even worse, China’s retrenchment policy and the United States’ financial regulation amplified the crisis. Currently, the world pays attention to China which has steadily achieved high economic growth. In 2010, the world’s GDP level was about 63 trillion dollars, and by 2016, it is expected to reach 89 trillion dollars. During the same period, China’s GDP level was 5.9 trillion dollars, 9.4% of the world’s GDP, but by 2016, it would increase to 11.6 trillion dollars, 13.1% of the world’s GDP. In order to continue this high economic growth, China has to enforce foreign intentional strategy. According to the series of the China’s maritime customs, China’s foreign trade dependency was only 38.5% when it first joined WTO, but it reached 51.9% in 2003, and in 2006, it reached 67%. At the end of 2011, it dropped a little to 50.1%, but considering that countries like the U.S, Japan, India, and Brazil are only 30%, China’s foreign dependency is immensely high. In China’s economy which highly depends on foreign countries, foreign market expansion policy is necessary. In recent Free Trade Agreement among Korea, China, and Japan, China’s active position is related with this foreign market expansion policy. Especially, FTA among Korea, China, and Japan is China’s biggest interest. Korea and Japan have world-known economic power, so it is absolutely necessary for China to expand mutual trade. However, up to now, despite free trade negotiation between two countries, Korea, China, Japan have been constantly tepid and have FTA gap comparing to Southeastern Asia. Korea has become active in signing FTA because there has been profit coming from FTA. Japan has already agreed on it. China is also active in FTA. Furthermore, TPP of the United States is also main interest. China’s participation not only raises the status of TPP but also helps the United States’ national profit. Japan will come to Asia Pacific’s Free Trade in any form. In seeking currently proceeding free trade in Asia Pacific, economic bloc without the United States will be impossible, and the value of it will be lower without China’s participation. Korea has already signed FTA with countries which are participating in TPP or been in negotiation. By observing how TPP would function in free trade movement, strategy in the medium to long term will be necessary.