On the trilateral meeting in Chengdu, China is approaching S. Korea and Japan for more economic cooperation amid the trade uncertainty with the U.S. (Image via China.org.cn)

China approaches Japan and S. Korea amid U.S trade uncertainty

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
International
Dec 26, 2019
2849
On Wednesday, hosting the trilateral summit in Chengdu, China approached Japan and South Korea (S. Korea) for more trade deals and offered infrastructure supports.

Meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, stated Beijing’s willingness to boost economic cooperation with Tokyo in third-country markets and further its services industry. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the trilateral summit.

Previously, also meeting the President of S. Korea, Moon Jae-in, on Monday, Li said that China wants to work on a railway project connecting S. Korea with China and Europe.

On Tuesday’s summit, the three countries also mentioned a new trilateral free-trade pact, a separate, China-backed deal that, if signed, will be the world’s biggest deal. In 2018 alone, the trilateral countries’ trade was worth more than US$720 billion.

The summit also covered the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact. RCEP pact will account for 30 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and loop in half of the global population. However, in a summit in November, India walked out of the pact.

The members of RCEP to this day are 10 ASEAN states, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. And, they aim to sign the pact next year after the draft has been completed and agreed upon.

It is known that China and the United States (U.S) are fighting each other in a ground-breaking trade war that shakes the entire global economy. Both countries imposed tariff hikes on each other.

The President of the U.S, Donald Trump, said on Friday that he had maintained a “very good talk” with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, hinting that both countries are getting closer to signing the “Phase One” agreement that will put an end to the raging trade war.

However, the details of the “Phase One” negotiation remains unknown to this day. Officials stated that the translation and legal work are not done yet.

Furthermore, the U.S legislators are getting on China’s nerve by supporting Hong Kong protesters with the Hong Kong Rights act and condemning the crackdown and mass internment of the Muslims and ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

Source: https://bit.ly/35XdZ0n

Politics , Economy , Finance , Trade , Infrastructure , Trilateral , Asia , Japan , China , S.Korea , U.S