US trade war and Japan push raise prospects for China-backed Asia free-trade deal
Beijing urgently needs to get an agreement to help weather Washington’s tariffs, analyst says
The US trade war and a thaw in ties between China and Japan are raising prospects for the world’s biggest regional free-trade deal, analysts said on Sunday after trade negotiators voiced high hopes of reaching a broad agreement in November.
Singaporean Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said trade negotiators from 16 likely signatories of the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, agreed on key elements of the deal at a meeting in Singapore last week, and a broad agreement was likely when leaders of the countries met in the city state in November.
“We are looking for that broad agreement, that milestone to be achieved, or what we call substantial conclusion, when the leaders meet at the end of the year,” Chan said on Saturday.
The 16-nation pact, involving 10 Asean members as well as China, Japan, Australia, India, New Zealand and South Korea, would cover about half the world’s population and a third of its GDP.
It has been under negotiation for years but a deal has yet to be reached.