The RCEP will also accelerate the economic integration of Innordostasia. A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said last year that negotiations on the trilateral free trade agreement between China and South Korea and Japan, which have been stalled for many years, will begin “as soon as they are able to conclude the RCEP negotiations.” As I said, in a high-level speech in early November, President Xi Jinping promised to “accelerate negotiations on an investment agreement between China and the EU and a free trade agreement between China and Japan and the United States.” ASEAN leaders said they intend to continue expanding trade with India and that the door remains open in New Delhi to join the bloc. Fifteen nations in the Asia-Pacific region have concluded the world`s largest free trade agreement, which they hope will accelerate the recovery of their economies devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Read more: The real winners of the U.S.-China trade dispute are expected to be members of the RCEP or CPTPP, but have withdrawn under the Modi and Trump administration. With the agreements now configured (see Figure 1), they strongly promote intra-Asian integration around China and Japan. This is partly the result of American policy. The United States needs to rebalance its economic and security strategies to promote not only its economic interests, but also its security objectives. We also believe that together, the RCEP and the CPTPP will offset the global losses resulting from the trade war between the United States and China, but not for China and the United States. The new agreements will make the economies of North and Southeast Asia more efficient and combine their strengths in technology, production, agriculture and natural resources. RCEP countries will also put in place a new framework for telecommunications regulation, building on existing ASEAN free trade agreements, which will focus on improving access and use of public telecommunications systems and access to key telecommunications equipment.

The new framework will also ensure that RCEP countries do not discriminate 20%when providing access to submarine wiring systems. Southeast Asia will benefit greatly from RCEP ($19 billion per year by 2030), but less than North-East Asia, as it already has free trade agreements with RCEP partners. But the RCEP could improve access to funds from china`s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and improve the benefits of market access by strengthening transport, energy and communication links. RCEP`s favourable rules of origin will also attract foreign investment. APEC recognizes the important role that regional trade agreements (ATRs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) can play in trade liberalization in the APEC region. “The economic benefits of the agreement may be marginal for Southeast Asia, but there are some interesting trade and customs dynamics for Southeast Asia,” said Nick Marro of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Many Member States have already concluded free trade agreements, but there are restrictions. Finally, rcep and the CPTPP are powerful counter-examples of the decline in rules-based trade around the world. If rcep stimulates mutually beneficial growth, its members, including China, will gain influence around the world.

Chinese President Xi Opens to Other Trade and Import Agreements A product made in Indonesia, which contains, for example, Australian parts, could expect tariffs elsewhere in the Asean Free Trade Area. www.trade.gov.tw/english/Pages/List.aspx?nodeID=672 www.economia.gob.mx/trade-and-investment/foreign-trade/international-trade-negotiations/north-america Chinese Premier Li Keqiang celebrated the signing of the agreement in a speech at the summit, saying: “The signing of the RCEP is not only a milestone in East Asian regional cooperation, but also a victory for multilateralism and