FIFTEEN Asia-Pacific economies formed the
world's largest free trade bloc, a China-backed deal that excludes the United
States, which had left a rival Asia-Pacific grouping under
President Donald Trump.
The
signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP) at a regional summit in Hanoi, is a further blow to the group pushed by
former US president Barack Obama, which his successor Trump exited in 2017.
Amid
questions over Washington's engagement in Asia, RCEP may cement China's
position more firmly as an economic partner with Southeast Asia, Japan and
Korea, putting the world's second-biggest economy in a better position to shape
the region's trade rules.
The
US is absent from both RCEP and the successor to the Obama-led Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP), leaving the world's biggest economy out of two trade groups
that span the fastest-growing region on earth.
By contrast, RCEP could help Beijing cut its
dependence on overseas markets and technology, a shift accelerated by a deepening
rift with Washington, said Iris Pang, ING chief economist for Greater China.
RCEP groups the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New
Zealand. It aims in coming years to progressively lower tariffs across many
areas.
The
deal was signed on the sidelines of an online ASEAN summit held as Asian
leaders address tensions in the South China Sea and tackle plans for a
post-pandemic economic recovery in a region where US-China rivalry has been
rising, Reuters reported.
In
an unusual ceremony, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic,
leaders of RCEP countries took turns standing behind their trade ministers who,
one by one, signed copies of the agreement, which they then showed triumphantly
to the cameras.
RCEP will account for 30 per cent of the
global economy, 30 per cent of the global population and reach 2.2 billion
consumers.
China's
finance ministry said the new bloc's promises include eliminating some tariffs
within the group, including some immediately and others over 10 years.
There
were no details on which products and which countries would see immediate
reduction in tariffs.
India
pulled out of RCEP talks in November last year, but ASEAN leaders said the door
remained open for it to join.
Source
: HKSG.
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