Achieving the FTAAP is the destiny of APEC
- By Zhou Shixin
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E-mail China.org.cn, November 8, 2014
Currently, many of APEC member economies are trying to build the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), in hoping to realize the FTAAP in a multilateral way. From the perspective of membership, all the negotiating parties of the TPP are from APEC. These economies can be considered as the vanguards of APEC who are trying to lead the direction of negotiation for the FTAAP in the future. The TPP can be treated as a challenge to achieve the FTAAP, but at the same time, the TPP also sets the mission that the FTAAP must accept and follow. Otherwise, the FTAAP will lose its glamor for the TPP members.
In contrast, the challenges to the FTAAP from Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at the core of ASEAN may be more serious. India and three members of ASEAN, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in the RCEP, are not yet members of APEC. In this sense, ASEAN members in APEC must give priority to the interests of APEC rather than only ASEAN and strive to fulfill the specific targets of realizing the FTAAP. On the other hand, with the successful implementation of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the RCEP, ASEAN countries will certainly hold a positive and optimistic attitude towards the FTAAP.
It is reported that the APEC summit of this year will adopt the roadmap to achieve the FTAAP, officially launch the FTAAP process, and lay its specific content and development direction in the future. In addition to this, as the host of the APEC in 2015, the Philippines will also take the FTAAP as an important topic, and work to bring the FTAAP into the formal negotiation process. If the FTAAP can learn from the RCEP and the TPP during its negotiation phase, then it is highly likely to be realized by 2025.
In fact, as the APEC leaders declared last year in Bali, APEC should pay more attention to information sharing, enhancing transparency and capacity building in promoting regional economic integration. To a large extent, this was intended to respond the negotiation of TPP as top secret. On the other hand, the practical concerns of the least developed members must be considered during the process of the FTAAP negotiations because APEC members have big differences and divergences. There should be sufficient flexibility and adaptability in the FTAAP while it emphasizes high standards and strict requirements, to make it more attractive during its implementation. Only when the FTAAP can be carried out, will it not be empty talk.
As we imagined, "big regionalism" under the framework of APEC is coming into being. When the FTAAP is formed and ultimately implemented, it can be assumed that APEC has completed its most important mission, and will bring prosperity and glory to all APEC members.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn For more information please visit
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