Minister Wang was responding to a question about ASEAN and the river project. That, however, is not the only reason for including a reference to that initiative here. The larger point his comments underscore is that, at least for China, RCEP is part of a bigger initiative - a China charm offensive vis-à-vis ASEAN. So, as important as RCEP may be as an FTA, seeing it only in that light risks understating its role in China's regional diplomacy.
Of course, there is more to RCEP than China's relations with the ASEAN countries. For starters, one needs to consider RCEP in light of China's relationships with each of the other five participants - Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and India. And then, of course, there is the reality check for RCEP: will India really allow it to happen?
Even if RCEP is moving as quickly as Minister Wang would like, there will be time for consideration of those questions later. But we do have space here for two tangential trade thoughts, one about China, and one about America.
On China. Last December, Reuters published an article on China by
Anja Manuel, which included this sobering observation:
"U.S. policymakers across administrations have urged China to be more proactive and join the 'governing board' of the world. Their unstated hope was that, in return for this generous gesture, China would accept without change the international norms that the United States and Europe have established. That's wishful thinking. Commensurate with its new power, China will most likely seek to amend global governance to fit its needs."
In the trade context, Ms. Manuel's observation leads to the question, how should the world look at RCEP? Is it just TPP light with a somewhat different set of players? Or is it a stab at "amending global governance to fit [China's] needs?"
And on America. Politico published a story by
Doug Palmer last Saturday under the only slightly melodramatic headline, "
Candidates weaponized free-trade issue." From
Hillary Clinton to
Donald Trump, they are all running against trade and trade agreements. In short, America - or at least American politics - seems to be stuck in a Tonya Harding moment. Ms. Harding, you may recall, was an American figure skater, in some ways a great one. But in 1994 she convinced herself that the path to her next victory wasn't through real competition but by encouraging thugs to attack her rival, Nancy Kerrigan.
Yes, the comparison has its flaws. And yes, there is such a thing as unfair trade. And yes, it does need to be addressed. But crudely attacking competitors or, indeed, competition itself is not a good strategy. It didn't work out well for Ms. Harding, and it won't work out well for America. Let's hope this moment passes soon.
