China shouldn't be marginalized by TPP: think tank
China should accelerate negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to avoid being marginalized by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, a strategic institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) said on Wednesday, people.com.cn reported.
The smooth negotiations for the TPP are exerting much pressure on the RCEP, especially for China, which might increase communication with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a bid to accelerate negotiations and not be marginalized, the National Institute of International Strategy (NIIS) of the CASS was quoted as saying.
The TPP is an open trade agreement including 12 countries and regions at present: the US, Japan, Singapore, Chile, Peru, Brunei, New Zealand, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico and Canada. Documents were signed on February 4 in Auckland, New Zealand, after seven years of negotiations.
The signatory countries have a combined population of 800 million people and account for 40 percent of world trade.
The TPP "has a limited influence on China's economy. The most heavily affected industries include textiles, clothing and shoes, with a drop of 1 percent to 2 percent," Shen Minghui, assistant research fellow at the NIIS, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
The TPP's influence on the global economic game will depend on how many developing countries join, said Shen, noting that China should accelerate negotiations for the RCEP to avoid being marginalized.
The RCEP was conceived in 2013 and its prospective members involve the member economies of the ASEAN and regional trading partners including China, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The total population of these countries accounts for about half of the global figure while their combined GDPs, trade and foreign investment figures are each about one-third of the world total.
"The RCEP is very different from the TPP. The RCEP aims to provide a smooth global value chain for developing countries in the region by cutting business costs while the TPP focuses on national behind-border issues like investment, laws and regulations," Shen said. "I hold a positive attitude toward the RCEP, and I think agreement will be reached this year due to the sense of urgency from the Chinese side."
The 12th round of negotiations among prospective RCEP members concluded in Perth, Australia on April 29.
