Asia’s future as a global tech powerhouse hinges on China-Japan relations
- Unlike in Europe, the legacies of the Pacific War have not been resolved in Asia, preventing greater economic integration
- RCEP cements the region’s claim as the heart of the global production network, and could help its tech leaders clinch the free trade deal that has eluded them
Hailed as the largest regional trading bloc in the world, the real significance of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) goes beyond trade. Instead of the often-discussed “wins” for China, Japan could perhaps gain the most from RCEP.
As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has free trade agreements with all the other RCEP members, the bloc is arguably the consolidation and rationalisation of all these Asean FTAs. There are also FTAs among most of the other RCEP countries. So what is the big deal about RCEP?
It took smaller countries, many of which also suffered from Japanese aggression, to help overcome the deep-rooted animosity between Japan and its two key neighbours within the framework of a larger agreement.
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RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries sign world’s largest free-trade deal