Last month, 15 Asia-Pacific countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The occasion marked what might be the most significant economic achievement since the COVID-19 crisis began. And yet the RCEP – or, indeed, Asia – cannot save the ailing multilateral trading system alone.
The recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between ASEAN and five Asia-Pacific countries (China, Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand) has created the world’s largest free-trade zone that covers about a third of the world’s population and accounts for about 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).The European Union (EU) is not a signatory to RCEP, but is paying close attention to it.
The 15 November agreement to form the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between the 10 members of ASEAN and Australia, China, Japan, Korea and New Zealand has only modest immediate economic effects for the European Union (EU). However, with China playing a central role in the new arrangement, the long-term strategic and geopolitical implications are major.
China will consider joining a free trade pact once championed by the United States (US) but abandoned by Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping said last Friday, as Beijing increasingly seeks to influence the global rules of commerce.The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is an updated version of a giant deal originally backed by former US president Barack Obama as an effort to counter China's rising might in Asia. Trump pulled out of it af
President Xi Jinping hailed China as the pivot point for global free trade Thursday, vowing to keep its "super-sized" economy open for business and warning against protectionism as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic.Buoyed by the signing of the world's largest trade pact over the weekend, Xi said the Asia-Pacific is the "forerunner driving global growth" in a world hit by "multiple challenges."He vowed "openness" to trade and rejected any poss
The escalating trade war between the United States (US) and China has sometimes been characterised as what game theorists would call a prisoner’s dilemma. A prisoner might benefit by informing on another, but only if the second prisoner does not also betray the first. If both inform, both lose; the best outcome occurs when both remain silent.
World leaders will push for the rapid completion of a massive, China-backed trade deal that excludes the United States (US) at a summit this week, in a rebuke to rising protectionism and Donald Trump's "America First" agenda.China, Japan, India and other Asia-Pacific countries could announce a broad agreement on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which covers half the world's population, on the sidelines of the annual gathering.Not only is the US absen
More than 50 European and Asian leaders backed free trade and the fight against climate change on Friday in a veiled swipe at United States (US) President Donald Trump and his increasingly protectionist approach.
European leaders sought to build support from Asia on Thursday in defence of free trade and the fight against climate change, to counter the growing protectionism of President Donald Trump's America.The 28 European Union (EU) states were joined at a summit in Brussels by more than 20 Asian leaders including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japan's Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is also attending, despite tensions over Moscow
Southeast Asia and Europe stressed the importance of pushing back against protectionism and the threat of global trade wars Friday, as their ministers work towards the eventual goal of a region-to-region free trade pact.The United States (US) is embroiled in trade spats with China and close allies including the European Union (EU), imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods and heightening fears of economic pain that could spread worldwide.At a meeting in Singapore, E
According to an old African proverb, “When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” The same is true for full-blown trade wars: when major economies clash, developing countries will be among the hardest hit.On 1 June, the United States’ (US) administration imposed import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium. The levies will affect not just China, but also Canada, Mexico, and the countries of the European Union (EU).
Two days of U.S.-China trade discussions ended in Beijing on Friday with an agreement to keep on talking, and little else.China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday afternoon that both sides reached a consensus on some trade issues, without providing details. They also acknowledged major disagreements on some matters and will continue communicating to work toward making more progress.The U.S.
