China wants quick close on regional trade pact after TPP dashed

[BEIJING] China wants to seal the deal on a trade agreement with Southeast Asian countries as soon as possible with a US-led pact now in doubt, a Ministry of Commerce official said Thursday.

The country will work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to negotiate the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, spokesman Shen Danyang said in a briefing in Beijing, echoing President Xi Jinping's Saturday speech to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

China will actively participate in multilateral or bilateral trade and work closely with World Trade Organization members to foster "freer and more convenient" global trade regardless of how the Asean-backed RCEP or American-led Trans-Pacific Partnership fare, Mr Shen said.

China's bid to assert its economic leadership is gaining traction in its push for the Asia-wide trade pact in the wake of Donald Trump's surprise election victory, which dashed hopes for the US-led TPP deal that would have taken in about 40 per cent of the global economy. The TPP excludes China and RCEP excludes the US

Securing a deal would further enmesh the world's second-largest economy in the region and help cement China's role as a geopolitical leader. It would boost China's clout in a region where it has territorial disputes with neighbours including Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines and is looking to displace decades of US strategic dominance.

The US withdrawal from the 12-nation TPP - reaffirmed by Mr Trump in a videotape Monday - has focused attention on a competing set of trade talks. The next round of RCEP negotiations will be Dec 2-10 in Bumi Serpong Damai city, near Jakarta.

Mr Xi told Apec members gathered Saturday in Lima, Peru that China pledges to boost global trade and cooperation by opening up further and giving greater access to foreign investors.

Beijing wants a level playing field for foreign and local companies so that they can share in the country's growth, Mr Xi said.

BLOOMBERG