China mulls bid for Apec free-trade area to taunt US, tantalise Asia

China mulls bid for Apec free-trade area to taunt US, tantalise Asia

Anticipated push for the FTAAP, covering all 21 Apec members, will burnish China’s reputation by casting the US as an obstacle, analysts say

China is increasingly expected to push for a trade agreement binding a wide swathe of the Pacific Rim, including the US, when it hosts a forum of major Asia-Pacific economies in November, but a real deal may be hard to secure as Washington is likely to resist, according to analysts.

The anticipated push for the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), covering all 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, would – even if unsuccessful – earn Beijing goodwill from other Pacific Rim countries because it would be proposing action to cut export costs, they said.

“It should be high on the agenda especially given [US President Donald] Trump’s anti-international trade position and his constant tariff threats,” said Chen Zhiwu, chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong.