Can China’s trade boost with Asean help get the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership over the line?
- 16-nation trade deal has been debated for seven years, but the success of another regional pact might just be enough to help bring the negotiations to a conclusion, observers say
- Trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose 4 per cent in the first half of the year
The success of the Asean-China Free Trade Area in helping to boost business amid Beijing’s tariff dispute with the United States bodes well for the upcoming talks on the creation of a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), analysts say.
According to figures released by Beijing earlier this month, China’s trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the first six months of 2019 rose 4 per cent year on year to US$291.8 billion.
The 10-member bloc was China’s second-largest trading partner in the period – behind the European Union – after leapfrogging the US.
Discussions on the creation of the free-trade agreement – involving China, Asean, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea – have been ongoing since 2012. And while progress has been slow – there have already been 26 rounds of negotiations – the heads of the member states pledged in November to complete the deal this year.