rcep

The Asian Times writer Pepe Escobar is one of the most widely read and respected commentators in the English language, although he himself is a Brazilian and therefore always writing in a foreign language. In part because of the location of his major media outlet, Singapore, and in part because Asia is clearly where Escobar sees the future of the world, he has…

The outcome of the US elections (whose end is still unclear), and the signing of an agreement on forming a free trade zone involving the participation of 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand (the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP), are two of the most notable events in the past few years in the political game…

Contrary to the skepticism of the author a year ago, on 15 November of this year, during one of the (video) summits based on ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations that include ten countries), the Agreement on the creation of a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed. This completes the long-term process of forming…

China has achieved the almost impossible – a free trade agreement with 14 countries – the ten ASEAN, plus Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, altogether 15 countries, including China. The so-called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, was in negotiations during eight years – and achieved to pull together a group of countries for free trade, i.e. some 2.2 billion people…

The signing of a 15 member trade pact, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), is a watershed moment not only for the proponents of a post-American ‘Asian Century’, but also a major even in the history of US-China economic competition, a power-struggle that certainly has major implications for global political and economic system. RCEP…

A major treaty was signed on 16 November 2020 and it has been barely noticed by the western media. The treaty in question was between 15 predominantly Asian states, with two exceptions being Australia and New Zealand. It is called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with (RCEP). The signatories…

The fate of the ASEAN Plus Six project has become a key issue at the annual ASEAN summits, the latest of which was held in Bangkok in early November. The proposed project would see the formation of the world’s largest free trade zone, made up of the Association’s 10 Southeast Asian member states (ASEAN itself), plus partner states…

From 20-22 August, Beijing hosted a remarkable event: a meeting between Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Taro Kono and Kang Kyung-wha. The meeting included both bilateral and trilateral talks. The event was…