Top Indian official to miss talks in China on sweeping Asian free trade deal
- Domestic legislative obligations will stop Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal from attending the RCEP meeting in Zhengzhou
India’s commerce minister will not attend a ministerial meeting in Beijing this week, hampering China’s push to seal a massive free trade deal amid a protracted trade war with the United States.
Because of an extension to the Indian parliamentary session, Piyush Goyal will not be among the ministers meeting in the Chinese capital on Friday and Saturday to discuss the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Instead, India will be represented by Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan.
The Chinese city of Zhengzhou is hosting trade negotiators from the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as well as Australia, Japan, China, India, New Zealand and South Korea.
The absence of Goyal could cast a shadow over the fate of the proposed agreement, which would encompass around one-third of the world’s economy and almost half of its population.
Beijing sees RCEP as a major way to diversify its market in the face of mounting trade pressure from the US.
Addressing trade delegates in Zhengzhou on Friday, Chinese vice-commerce minister Wang Shouwen said China was taking a series of measures to open up its market that would “offer firm support” to RCEP negotiations.