“I am delighted to say that after eight years of hard work, as of today, we have officially brought RCEP negotiations to a conclusion for signing,” said host country Vietnam’s prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Apart from the 10-member ASEAN, it includes China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, but not the United States. It is not expected to go as far as the European Union in integrating member economies but does build on existing free trade arrangements. “The signing of the RCEP is not only a landmark achievement of East Asian regional co-operation, but also a victory of multilateralism and free trade,” Mr Li said. ASEAN members include Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Burma, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Source: Irish Independent November 15, 2020 07:41 UTC