Articles

Comparative Analysis of Institutional Regimes for Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in the Northeast Asian Countries (2020-2025)

Received: 15.02.2026 Published: 15.02.2026

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Abstract

At the current stage of global economic development, the Northeast Asian region (NEA) has become a key epicenter of geopolitical and geoeconomic rivalry. Amidst the large-scale transformation of global production and supply chains, fragmentation of the global economy, accelerated technological decoupling, and the crisis of traditional multilateral institutions, the NEA countries are forced to radically revise their approaches to macroeconomic regulation of the foreign direct investment (FDI). This article provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of institutional regimes for attracting FDI in Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea for the period of 2020-2025. Key components of national regulatory systems are examined in detail, including differentiated tax incentives, the functioning of various types of special economic zones, legal and regulatory mechanisms for intellectual property (IP) protection, and the specifics of national labor legislation. Based on macroeconomic data and recognized international indices (OECD, Kearney), the strengths and weaknesses of each country's regime are identified, as well as the specifics of their strategic approaches to integrating into global capital flows in the form of FDI considering the geopolitical turbulence. A comparative analysis of the institutional regimes for attracting FDI in China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea reveals that there is no clear leader in terms of its favourability for foreign investors. Japan has created the most liberal and predictable investment regime, while China maintains its leadership in strategic attractiveness for investors and global companies, and the Republic of Korea offers balanced conditions with an emphasis on high-tech industries. Overall, changes in institutional regimes in 2020-2025 demonstrate that all three Northeast Asian countries are consistently shifting the regulatory focus from simple project control over foreign- invested enterprises to an end-to-end management of the investment lifecycle in companies, building strict protective perimeters around national technological bases, which is taken into account by global businesses when planning long-term international expansion and placing direct investments.

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Для цитирования:

Суслов Д.В. Сравнительный анализ институциональных режимов привлечения прямых иностранных инвестиций в странах Северо-Восточной Азии (2020-2025 гг.) // Власть и управление на Востоке России. 2026. Т. 19, № 2. С. 6–18.

For citation:

Suslov D.V. Comparative Analysis of Institutional Regimes for Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in the Northeast Asian Countries (2020-2025) // Power and Administration in the East of Russia. 2026. Vol. 19, no. 2. P. 6–18.

How to Cite

Suslov D.V. Comparative Analysis of Institutional Regimes for Attracting Foreign Direct Investment in the Northeast Asian Countries (2020-2025) // Power and Administration in the East of Russia. 2026. Vol. 19, no. 2. P. 6–18.

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