Nowadays, a ‘power shift’ is taking place in the global political economy from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean owing to the rapid growth of China (and in the recent past of neighboring Japan). While economic interdependence and regional co-operation (see for instance the establishment of ASEAN) are intense in Eastern Asia, conflicts for natural resources (e.g. Sea of South China), and territorial disputes (e.g. between China and Japan and between China and Taiwan) are not absent from the region. Not surprisingly, the EU has been increasingly turning its attention to Eastern Asia and is currently emerging in to an important economic partner of the region’s countries. The course analyzes the political-economic and social dynamics of Eastern Asia and assesses the impact of the EU policies towards the region.