China and 14 South East Asian countries form Trade Block to replace TPP
In response to: After eight years of talks, China and 14 other nations from Japan to New Zealand to Myanmar on Sunday formally signed one of the world’s largest regional free trade agreements, a pact designed by Beijing partly as a counterweight to American influence in the region.
The pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or R.C.E.P., is limited in scope. Still, it carries considerable symbolic heft. The pact covers more of humanity — 2.2 billion people — than any previous regional free trade agreement and could help further cement China’s image as the dominant economic power in its neighborhood.
It also comes after a retreat by the United States from sweeping trade pacts that reshape global relationships. Nearly four years ago, President Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or T.P.P., a broader agreement than the R.C.E.P. that was widely seen as a Washington-led response to China’s growing sway in the Asia-Pacific region. Joseph R. Biden, the president-elect, has been noncommittal on whether he would join the T.P.P.’s successor.
Because of the pandemic, the signing of the agreement on Sunday was unusual, with separate ceremonies held in each of the 15 member countries all linked by video. Each country’s trade minister took turns signing a separate copy of the pact while his or her head of state or head of government stood nearby and watched.
The pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or R.C.E.P., is limited in scope. Still, it carries considerable symbolic heft. The pact covers more of humanity — 2.2 billion people — than any previous regional free trade agreement and could help further cement China’s image as the dominant economic power in its neighborhood.
It also comes after a retreat by the United States from sweeping trade pacts that reshape global relationships. Nearly four years ago, President Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or T.P.P., a broader agreement than the R.C.E.P. that was widely seen as a Washington-led response to China’s growing sway in the Asia-Pacific region. Joseph R. Biden, the president-elect, has been noncommittal on whether he would join the T.P.P.’s successor.
Because of the pandemic, the signing of the agreement on Sunday was unusual, with separate ceremonies held in each of the 15 member countries all linked by video. Each country’s trade minister took turns signing a separate copy of the pact while his or her head of state or head of government stood nearby and watched.
RCEP Members - Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Laos
Some of the US's largest trading partners are in the new RCEP. This combined with the massive increase in China's trade in 2020 leaves China as the Dominant power in the region. Good thing Trump pulled the USA out of the TPP just because Obama wanted it, huh?
Leaving China free reign to form its own trade block and massively increase its influence was yet another reason China wanted the Trump good times to continue.
Comments (1)
The whole point of the tarrifs and Trump policy was to punish china and reduce US imports. IN the really real world the trade with China is basically unaffected. If its just COVID that caused imports to spike, how come the PREVIOUS high was 52202.34 USD Million in October of 2018?
Theres a graph here. Set it to 5 years and watch as the Chinese imports graph keeps going up despite flabby Trump Muscle flexing.
Look at that massive Drop in febuary 2020 before it spiked up again. That drop was caused by COVID too.
Trump china policy a failure. and it was even when he was offering President Xi Chocolate Cake.