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 United States 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. RCEP groups the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The deal marks the first time rival East Asian powers China, Japan and South Korea have been in a single free trade agreement. For China, the new group, including many U.S. allies, is a windfall largely resulting from Mr Trump's retreat from the TPP, said ING's Pang.

Source: The Hindu November 15, 2020 06:11 UTC