China eyes regional trade deal void left by Trump’s win
Xi Jinping expected to lead push to promote Beijing-backed regional pacts at Apec summit as momentum for US-led agreement stalls
China will step into the political vacuum created by Donald Trump’s US presidential election win to forge stronger ties with Latin America and advance Beijing-led free-trade deals at the Apec summit in Lima, Peru, this week, analysts said.
The drive will be spearheaded by President Xi Jinping, who heads to the Peruvian capital for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit this weekend.
Heading a delegation that includes more than 400 businesspeople, Xi is expected to seize the chance to promote the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership unravels.
The RCEP is a proposed deal between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and six other countries in the region.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said yesterday his country would scrap plans to ratify the TPP, and Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said Canberra would work to wrap up a study on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, another regional pact advanced by Beijing.
Trump has repeatedly called the TPP – a pillar of US President Barack Obama’s pivot to Asia strategy – a “death blow” for US manufacturing jobs and threatened to pull out of the deal. The White House said last week it would not push for ratification.