BEIJING: China has agreed to soften its push for a vast new Asia-Pacific free trade agreement in the face of resistance from the United States, which is promoting its own regional trade pact. Beijing has acquiesced to toned-down treatment in a final summit communique on its favoured Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), according to the South China Morning Post.
China’s promotion of the FTAAP — and the narrative of Sino-US rivalry on the issue — had loomed as a major agenda item for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting. The gathering culminates with a two-day summit of leaders including China’s Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama.
APEC officials have said the meeting would conclude with a call for a “strategic study” on FTAAP. But FTAAP will only be mentioned in an annex to the final communique, the SCMP said citing a US official close to the talks, and would be downgraded from being called a “feasibility” study, with a target date of 2025 also dropped.
According to the paper, a Chinese official said: “The US wants to impede FTAAP, and they want to promote TPP during APEC. This is really annoying for us.” AFP
