China leaving US behind with RCEP a new chapter for Beijing after surviving trade war

Name: CPTPP could become game changer and supplant 'out-of-date' WTO, after mainland China, Taiwan apply
Uploaded: 2021-11-04T14:16:03.000Z
Duration: 11 min 11 s
Description: CPTPP could become game changer and supplant 'out-of-date' WTO, after mainland China, Taiwan apply

The 15-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will take effect on January 1 after reaching the minimum number of ratifications this week

China is also aiming to join another trade bloc, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

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The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), comprising 15 member countries including China, will take effect on January 1 after reaching the minimum number of ratifications this week. Photo: Xinhua

Su-Lin TanandOrange Wang

Published: 10:16pm, 4 Nov 2021Updated: 10:14am, 19 Oct 2023

China is taking the lead in expanding global trade as the world’s biggest trade pact takes effect, leaving behind an increasingly protectionist United States, trade experts say.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), comprising 15 member countries including China, will take effect on January 1 after reaching the minimum number of ratifications this week.

First signed in November last year after eight years of negotiations, RCEP will not only expand trade for around 30 per cent of the world’s population, but further open up China to the world.

With the RCEP going ahead officially, China will now be able to drive trade on its terms, although some trade experts say there may still be roadblocks ahead and the effectiveness of RCEP remains to be seen, with some even questioning how many countries would benefit fully from the deal.

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CPTPP could become game changer and supplant 'out-of-date' WTO, after mainland China, Taiwan apply

China is also aiming to join another trade bloc, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which was formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) when it was the centrepiece of the United States’ strategic pivot to Asia, until then-president Donald Trump walked away from the deal in the early days of his presidency.

“China really started to engage with and wanted to conclude the RCEP and as the TPP completed. With the US dropping out, it shifted the balance,” said Bryan Mercurio, an international trade law professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong. “It’s Trump’s policies with a smile.”

With the US really struggling with its own policies and Biden continuing Trump’s policies, and not speaking about market access it seems, it’s all about protectionism.”