Cross border financial cooperation and competition in east Asian economic integration: a comparative study of China, Japan, and South Korea
东亚经济一体化中的跨境金融合作与竞争：中日韩比较研究

摘要

自20世纪末亚洲金融危机爆发，东亚区域金融一体化进程持续深化，合作基础稳步夯实，如清迈倡议多边化机制（Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation, CMIM）额度已提升至2400亿美元，覆盖全部东盟10国与中日韩共13个经济体，增强了区域应急流动性保障功能；债券通（Bond Connect）北向通道开通后，外资持有中国债券的托管余额由2017年8425亿元增至2021年底的4.1万亿元，占比由1.24%升至3.1%，该机制显著提升了跨境资本流动便利性与市场吸引力，至2025年外资持债规模进一步增至4.35万亿元。本文在宏观背景梳理、文献回顾与典型案例分析的基础上，系统归纳中、日、韩三国跨境金融合作的制度演进路径与主要运行机制；评估其对贸易投资扩张、金融稳定维护与技术创新驱动的综合效应；剖析中日韩三国在货币互换安排、市场互联互通建设及监管协调机制中的竞合格局；并聚焦央行数字货币（Central Bank Digital Currency, CBDC）与绿色金融（基于环境和气候目标的金融活动）等新兴领域，提出区域合作的优化思路。研究表明，区域货币互换与债券通等机制在应对系统性风险、提升资本配置效率方面取得显著成效；未来，央行数字货币互认机制与绿色债券互通平台有望成为东亚金融合作的新增长极，并为构建东亚多币种支付清算网络、增强区域金融安全网弹性以及参与全球金融治理提供了理论支撑与现实路径。

Abstract

Since the onset of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, the process of regional financial integration in East Asia has continued to deepen and its cooperative foundations have been steadily strengthened. For example, the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) facility has been expanded to USD 240 billion, covering all ten ASEAN member states plus China, Japan, and South Korea—thirteen economies in total—and thereby enhancing the region's emergency liquidity‐support function. After the launch of the northbound trading link under Bond Connect, foreign holdings in China's interbank bond market rose from approximately RMB 842.5 billion in 2017 to around RMB 4.1 trillion by the end of 2021, with their share of total market custody increasing from 1.24 percent to 3.1 percent; by 2025, this figure had further grown to RMB 4.35 trillion. Drawing on a review of the macroeconomic context, a survey of existing literature, and detailed case‐study analysis, this paper systematically delineates the institutional evolution and principal operational mechanisms underpinning cross‐border financial cooperation among China, Japan, and South Korea; evaluates their combined effects on trade and investment expansion, financial‐stability preservation, and technology‐driven innovation; and examines the competitive‐cooperative dynamics present in currency‐swap arrangements, market‐connectivity initiatives, and regulatory‐coordination frameworks. Focusing especially on emerging domains such as central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and green finance—defined here as financial activities guided by environmental and climate objectives—we propose optimized pathways for enhancing regional collaboration. Our findings indicate that mechanisms like regional currency swaps and Bond Connect have yielded significant gains in mitigating systemic risk and boosting capital‐allocation efficiency. Looking ahead, the mutual recognition of CBDCs and the development of green‐bond connectivity platforms are poised to become new growth poles in East Asian financial cooperation, providing both theoretical foundations and practical routes for constructing a multi‐currency payment‐and‐clearing network, strengthening the resilience of the regional financial safety net, and engaging more fully in global financial governance.