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RCEP
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Letters | The RCEP is missing one element: a road map for an Asian dollar

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A woman walks by a currency exchange shop decorated with different countries’ banknotes in Central, Hong Kong, in August 2019. Photo: AP
Letters
If the trade war between the United States and China reflects the disintegration of the global economy, the decoupling of the world’s two largest economies has pushed integration in some areas, most recently with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The formation of the RCEP, the world’s largest free-trade deal, is timely as countries in the Asia-Pacific acknowledge the significance of economic interdependence. Hopefully, the RCEP will serve not just members of the region but also benefit countries elsewhere.

More importantly, the new organisation comes as countries all over the world seek a constant, steady and uninterrupted supply chain improved by the advantages of geopolitical proximity. With the RCEP, member countries can significantly reduce their transport costs and carbon emissions.

The free-trade deal comes after the Trump administration took the US into a period of “isolationism”, withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization – moves that president-elect Joe Biden has promised to reverse. It seems the forces of integration are once again on the horizon.
For Hong Kong, the RCEP’s economic boost to the region would benefit the city, which desperately needs business, and could help to lower our unemployment rate.

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RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries sign world’s largest free-trade deal

RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries sign world’s largest free-trade deal

But I believe the RCEP is missing a piece of the puzzle: it should also create a road map for the creation of a single currency for the region – the Asian dollar.

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