China’s top diplomat backs Hong Kong membership of world’s biggest trading bloc at Jakarta summit for regional foreign ministers
- Wang Yi, mainland China’s foreign policy chief, tells foreign ministers’ meeting city should be in the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
- He adds China supported construction of ‘stable, smooth and comparative advantage-based regional production and supply chain system’
Beijing’s top diplomat has thrown his weight behind Hong Kong’s entry to the world’s largest trade bloc at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Indonesia, a move analysts have said would give a boost to city leader John Lee’s business talks on a visit to three countries in the region later this month.
He also appealed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan and South Korea to uphold “openness and cooperation” to accelerate regional integration at the Asean Plus Three (APT) foreign ministers’ meeting in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta.
“Taking the full entry into force of RCEP as an opportunity, we support Hong Kong’s accession to RCEP as one of the first batch of members,” Wang, the director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, told the meeting.
“China supports the construction of a stable, smooth and comparative advantage-based regional production and supply chain system.”
