Photo: Dr. Clemente, Asian Center file photo. Right: Cover of Merchant Communities in Asia, 1600-1980.
Dr. Tina Clemente, Associate Professor at the UP Asian Center, took part last April in a conference and symposium, where she presented her ongoing research on various facets of Philippines-China relations.
At the International Conference on “The 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and Sino-Indonesian Strategic Cooperation,” Dr. Clemente spoke on “Philippines-China Economic Diplomacy and the Maritime Silk Road: Views from the Philippines.” The conference was held from 25 to 26 April 2016 at the Yifu International Conference Center in Wuhan, China. It was organized by the Central China Normal University and the China Society for Southeast Asian Studies.
According to a press release from the APPFI, Dr. Clemente "discussed bilateral economic engagement in trade, investment and official development assistance. She then looked at how economic diplomacy interests are framed in a spectrum where commercial gain and stability are binary extremes. She noted that empirical research on economic diplomacy has much room for improvement and that in developing countries including the Philippines, the tasks involved in trade and investment promotion can easily overwhelm the foreign relations apparatus." Read APPFI press release.
Later last month, on 29 April 2016, Dr. Clemente participated in the 2016 UP-CIDS Research Colloquium, where she examined “The Development Dynamic in Chinese Foreign Relations: Insights for the Philippines.” The colloquium, which was held from 8 am to 5 pm at the Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman, showcased various studies funded by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies.
In early March, Dr. Clemente took part in a symposium organized by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA). Her research, funded by the OVPAA and part of the UP China/Strategic Studies Program Research Project was about “Chinese-Filipinos at a Time of Territorial Disputes: The Case of Tsinoys in Metro Manila.”
Dr. Clemente teaches graduate courses at the UP Asian Center, including one on the social and economic development of China, one of three courses required for students majoring on the Middle Kingdom. She obtained her Ph.D. in Economics from the School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman. Her latest publication is “Spanish Colonial Policy Toward Chinese Merchants in Eighteenth-Century Philippines,” which appeared in Merchant Communities in Asia, 1600-1980, edited by M. Zelin and Y. Lin. London: Pickering & Chatto Publishers Ltd. View her full faculty profile.
The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Get an overview of these programs. The Asian Center also houses a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia. It has published several books and monographs, and hosts or organizes various lectures and conferences.