Multilateralism is alive and well in Asia, no thanks to Donald Trump and ‘America first’

Name: RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries sign world’s largest free-trade deal
Uploaded: 2020-11-20T22:45:14.000Z
Duration: 3 min 29 s
Description: RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries sign world’s largest free-trade deal

Multilateralism is having a good week, between the signing of the RCEP and the Apec summit. But as Biden promises a US return to the multilateral stage, it may be a missed opportunity for greater Chinese influence on global processes

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Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (left) and Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh celebrate during the virtual signing ceremony for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in Hanoi on November 15. Photo: EPA-EFE

David Dodwell

Published: 6:45am, 21 Nov 2020Updated: 7:10am, 21 Nov 2020

It has been a long time coming, but the past week has been a resoundingly good week for anyone who believes in strong international cooperation, free and open trade, and a preference for multilateral over unilateral ways of addressing our shared challenges. It augurs well not only for trade, but also for cooperation on climate change, and bringing the global pandemic under control.

I am not just talking about president-elect Joe Biden’s resounding electoral victory in the United States, or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that was signed virtually between 15 Asia-Pacific economies on the sidelines of an Asean summit hosted by Vietnam last weekend.

We can in addition celebrate the loud affirmation of multilateral cooperation at the Apec leaders’ (virtual) summit convened in Kuala Lumpur over the past week under the chairmanship of Malaysia. And we can expect a similar firm rejection of the past four years of the US’ pursuit of unilateralism when G20 leaders meet this weekend.

We can also draw comfort from the reality that, despite four years of relentless US efforts to reject multilateral cooperation, the rest of the world has held firm in the conviction that collaboration is in everyone’s best interest, and that other economies’ prosperity is not at our expense, but in our mutual interest.

Within the 21-economy Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, leaders have stood firm, 20 against one, in support of the rules-based multilateral system and the proposition that free and open trade and investment is a net positive for us all.

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

Nervously putting aside the harm that a vindictive Trump administration could inflict in the two months between now and Biden’s inauguration on January 20, the US president-elect has already signalled a firm commitment to restoring rational engagement in multilateral processes worldwide. As Biden reportedly said to a number of European leaders last week, “America is back”.