Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Further prolonging negotiations for a major free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific will put it at risk of losing credibility, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday, as the leaders of the countries involved met to complete the pact.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand are trying to achieve full conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in 2019.
The countries had earlier hoped to conclude talks for the China-backed deal by the end of this year.
"Market access negotiations have advanced substantially, bringing us closer to finalisation next year. We are now at the final stage of negotiations," Lee told a meeting of the leaders of the 16 countries involved in the talks.
President Xi Jinping will showcase China's Belt and Road initiative to Pacific leaders at a regional summit on Friday, diplomats say, with Western countries watching warily for signs of Beijing's growing clout.The competition for influence between China and Western allies Australia, New Zealand and the United States, is likely to provide a strong undercurrent at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea."China is showing a desire for a bigger role in the region, and that is out in the open like it has never been before," said a senior British diplomat who declined to be named as she is not authorised to talk to the media.China has said it will announce "important measures for further cooperation" at the summit. Western diplomats believe that probably means formally extending its Belt and Road plans into the Pacific.Turkey, China justice ministers seek more cooperationFirst proposed by Xi in 2013, the initiative promotes expanding land and sea links between Asia, Africa and Europe, with billions of dollars pledged for infrastructure development.Western governments harbour suspicions that Beijing's professed desire to spread prosperity masks an underlying intention to become a more dominant power.Tongan Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pōhiva is one of several island nation leaders who will meet collectively with Xi, having already been asked by Beijing to sign up to the Belt and Road."We're discussing that right now"," Lopeti Senituli, a political advisor to the Tongan premier, told Reuters.For Pacific nations, China may offer support for much needed infrastructure and development. Xi's vision to provide links to a bigger marketplace could also prove hard to resist for leaders of the remote, fledgling economies.US should create fund to counter Chinese infrastructure deals: commissionWHOSE PATCH?For China, extending its influence into the Pacific would lessen the sense of maritime containment, and also potentially secure support from grateful, indebted governments at international forums, where numbers can count.Three sources familiar with the matter, including the British official, said that Western nations had been informed that Vanuatu, the Cook Islands and Niue have agreed sign onto Belt and Road. Niue and the Cook Islands did not respond to an emailed request for comment, but the Cook Islands' Finance Minister Mark Brown told Radio New Zealand last week that his government would be signing.Vanuatu's Prime Minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu said in a message on Twitter that he "did not believe" Vanuatu had committed to Belt and Road but he would check.China's official Belt and Road website reported that Fiji had made a commitment on Monday, joining the likes of Samoa and Papua New Guinea.Chinese premier says no winner in trade war with USChina's footprint in the region has been growing in the past decade. Pacific governments now owe about $1.3 billion in concessional debt to China, raising fears in the West, that the region was becoming more susceptible to Beijing's diplomatic pressure.A senior Chinese diplomat said on Tuesday no country can block Beijing's cooperation with Pacific Island nations.Xi's meeting with the island nation leaders, which a U.S. diplomatic source said will be held without observers from the West, comes after a series of Western initiatives to shore up ties in the Pacific.Australia last week declared the Pacific "our patch" as it offered A$3 billion ($2.18 billion) in cheap infrastructure loans and grants.
Making waves in West, China luring Pacific islands with Belt and Road
He added: "Further prolonging negotiations puts the RCEP at risk of losing credibility and support from our stakeholders and will mean missing a major opportunity to bring in tangible benefits to our businesses and citizens".
Negotiations for RCEP began in 2012, which envisions the creation of a free trade zone that will encompass 45 percent of world population and more than a third of the world’s GDP, but does not involve the United States.
RCEP talks were given new impetus after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the competing Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal in one of the first acts of his administration.
The draft of a statement to be issued by RCEP nations later in the week, which was reviewed by Reuters, said the group would instruct "ministers and negotiators to work toward the full conclusion of the RCEP negotiations in 2019."
The Turkish and Chinese justice ministers on Wednesday signed a deal on enhancing cooperation between the two ministries.Turkey’s Abdulhamit Gül, in Beijing for talks, signed a memorandum of understanding with his Chinese counterpart Fu Zhenghua.“We had a very fruitful meeting with the minister of justice. We talked about our problems,” said Gül.“We spoke very openly about cooperation on the judicial issues of both countries and [our efforts to] solve our problems on these issues, as well as increasing cooperation,” Gül added.Dialogue between Turkey and China has increased due to contacts among the two countries’ leaders, said Gül, and this led to cooperation in the economy, trade, and politics as well as the judiciary.Gül said Fu was invited to next year’s International Istanbul Law Congress. He said that with the help of this congress, officials from both countries will meet every year to discuss cooperation and judicial problems.He added that eight Turkish prosecutors and judges are getting Chinese language education at Beijing’s Public Security University and that it is very important to know both the Turkish and Chinese judicial systems.‘Turkey can play bigger role in new global order’
Turkey, China justice ministers seek more cooperation
The U.S. government should create a fund to counter Chinese infrastructure financing deals in the developing world that export China's "model of authoritarian governance," according to a bipartisan commission report to the U.S. Congress released on Wednesday.The report from the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission has been complied almost every year since 2002 by a group tasked with monitoring the national security implications of U.S.-China trade relations. This year's edition said that China's efforts to finance bridges and even digital networks in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe have given the Chinese government an excuse to maintain a military presence there.The report recommended that Congress create a fund to assist countries in parts of the world where China is expanding its influence. It also warned about the threat of China's push into the next-generation 5G wireless technology on U.S. security and business interests.Chinese premier says no winner in trade war with USChina has been pushing its so-called Belt and Road Initiative that finances major ports, high speed rail, highways and bridges in countries ranging from Malaysia to Kenya and Russia. The commission said China was using it not just to "encourage and validate authoritarian actors abroad," but also to export standards for technology applications that could threaten U.S. businesses and market access across the globe.The commission, created by Congress in 2000, said Beijing was using the Belt and Road Initiative to justify a military presence in some of the countries.It recommended that Congress create a fund to provide assistance to countries especially in the Indo-Pacific region for digital connectivity, infrastructure and energy access.China says US controls on semiconductor firm break WTO rulesThe commission also warned about China's rising dominance in 5G wireless technology and the proliferation of devices connected to the internet that could be used to launch a cyber attack."U.S. telecommunications providers' reliance on imports from China raises serious supply chain concerns about the secure deployment of U.S. critical next generation telecommunications infrastructure," said the report.Concern about Chinese cyber attacks and cyber espionage has forced Chinese telecom equipment makers Huawei Technologies Corp and ZTE Corp to scale back some of their business in the United States.President Donald Trump earlier this year blocked microchip maker Broadcom Ltd from taking over Qualcomm Inc amid worries it would give China the upper hand in 5G mobile communications.US-China trade tensions will create 'domino effect'China says world should ignore 'gossip' about Xinjiang
US should create fund to counter Chinese infrastructure deals: commission
The prime minister of China said Tuesday there are no winners in a trade war with the U.S."There is no winner in the trade war," Li Keqiang said at the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Singapore where he addressed the trade war, the South China Sea dispute and the ASEAN market region.He said China does not wish to see flaws in the global trade chain that can affect other countries.Turning to the South China Sea, he said common effort is needed to resolve the issue and China wished the process to solve problems in the disputed areas to be resolved in three years.China says US controls on semiconductor firm break WTO rulesUS-China trade tensions will create 'domino effect'Keqiang also said China is working to make the ASEAN market region even more dynamic and Beijing has the potential to do that.The summit began Tuesday and will continue until Thursday.Leaders of China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Australia and of 10 ASEAN countries are expected to participate in the summit.
Chinese premier says no winner in trade war with US