Last Monday, the US Chamber of Commerce expressed its concern that the world’s largest economy was being left behind after China and 14 other countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), cementing the mainland’s dominant role in regional trade. Even before the pandemic, China was one of Asean’s biggest trading partners, thanks partly to the China-Asean FTA. Even amid the pandemic, bilateral trade between China and Asean grew by almost 4% year-on-year from January to August, with a value of $416.5 billion, accounting for almost 15% of China’s total trade. Even some RCEP members have been among the countries taking trade measures, such as prohibiting exports of Covid-related goods in response to the pandemic shock. In all, the RCEP does provide significant new benefits for stimulating trade, particularly in a post-pandemic economy.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 24, 2020 21:33 UTC