中國東協自由貿易區是中國外交政策中的轉折點,它不僅連接了中國和東南亞國家的經濟,並消融雙方之間的政治隔閡。此協定如今依然尚未普遍獲得研究者的關注,特別是相較於相關的事件,如東亞金融危機,以及新成員國--尤其是中國--加入世界貿易組織對其政治經濟發展的影響。過去檢討中國加入東協-中國自貿區之著作分別將其成因,不是歸於出自外交政策利益,就是戰略經濟考量,或是未來區域整合的帶頭羊,又或者是中國內部利益團體政策偏好的產物。本論文則認為,前兩個學說既無法解釋貿易協定的內容和形式,又不能解釋中國對東協方面的讓步。實際的形成過程則否定隨後兩個學說,因為中國和東協政府保持主導地位,不給予超國家行為者或利益團體政策影響力。 本論文主張政府内部政治途徑,認為其能補充其他研究學說的缺點。 此途徑檢討中國國務院的內部行為者,觀察其在政策形成過程當中的互動,機制偏好,及政策傾向. 行為者包含外交部,商務部,國家經濟和貿易委員會,中國社科院,以及國務院總理。論文認為,如此的研究焦點更能夠解釋東協-中國自由貿易協定的形式(中國與東協各國之間的多邊協定,不包含其他國家亞洲如日本,印度),以及協議本身的內容 (譬如早期收穫方案旗幟下加快開放貨品,延遲減稅商品,還有協定的法律結構)。 除了對東協-中國自由貿易協定研究的貢獻之外,本論文更進一步肯定了 制度化和競爭在改革時期中國外交政策當中的增高。 其肯定了中國入世時期最突出的政府內部政治途徑的實用性,也表明中國研究,因為資訊的質量及透明度,在當前相對開放時期所能夠達到的詳細程度 。
The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area was a watershed event in Chinese foreign policy, linking together the economies of China and Southeast Asia and heralding a thaw in relations between the two sides. It remains understudied in comparison to other related events such as the Asian Financial Crisis and the role of WTO entry in the political and economic development of recent members, particularly China. Previous works examining the formation of the Trade Area from the Chinese point of view have variously judged it as stemming out of foreign policy interests, strategic economic concerns, as a bellwether for further future regional integration, and as reflecting the interests of certain domestic Chinese interest groups. This thesis argues that the former two approaches are neither able to explain the modality and content of the trade agreement, nor can they explain concessions made toward the ASEAN side. The latter two are insufficient in view of the actual events leading to the formation of the FTA, in that governments remained the paramount actors, ceding little to either supranational actors or domestic interest groups. The thesis presents governmental politics as a supplementary approach with advantages over these other methodologies. This approach examines the relevant actors within the State Council and observes their interactions, institutional prerogatives, and policy leanings during the time of the agreement’s formation. These actors include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, State Economic and Trade Commission, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the office of the Premier himself. The thesis argues that such a focus provides greater insight into the modality of the agreement (multilateral between China and ASEAN members, non-inclusive of other countries such as Japan and India) and specific contents of the agreement itself (such as goods slated for accelerated liberalization under the Early Harvest Program, items slated for deferred liberalization, and its legal structure). Aside from contributing to the study of ACFTA itself, the thesis is also important in confirming the increased institutionalization and competition of Chinese foreign policy in the reform era. It confirms the utility of the government politics approach which came to the fore during the WTO accession and is important in demonstrating the degree of detail with which China can be studied given the amount of information available about government processes in the current era of relative openness.