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China applies to join Asian trade deal US abandoned
17-Sep-2021 Bloomberg
Beijing has applied to join an Asia-Pacific trade pact once pushed by the U.S. as a way to isolate China and solidify American dominance in the region.
China and ASEAN push for timely RCEP start as Jan. 1 looms
15-Sep-2021 Nikkei Asia
Countries that have signed on to the East Asia-spanning RCEP trade deal are going full speed ahead with plans to implement it on Jan. 1, 2022, despite foot-dragging by a majority, with China and ASEAN especially keen, for their own reasons, on seeing the pact come into force soon.
Uruguay and China will seek bilateral FTA, Uruguayan president announces
8-Sep-2021 Market Research Telecast
Uruguay and China will begin negotiations to seek a bilateral free trade agreement, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou announced, an issue that has generated risks within Mercosur.
Free trade agreement with South Korea may be signed next month
4-Sep-2021 Khmer Times
A long-awaited trade deal with South Korea may be signed next month, according to the country’s ambassador to Cambodia.
European lawmakers seek to upgrade ties with Taiwan
3-Sep-2021 Bloomberg
The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a report that urged the EU to begin work on a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan.
What’s going on between African nations and the EU?
2-Sep-2021 Devex
African leaders still have incentives to maintain the partnership between the two continents, not least because of the trade links and development assistance Europe offers. But they also have a strong interest in revising that relationship.
Beijing will back Hong Kong’s entry into world’s biggest free-trade deal, China’s commerce minister tells belt and road summit
1-Sep-2021 South China Morning Post
Wang pledged to support Hong Kong in joining “as soon as possible” the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s biggest free-trade deal covering China and 14 other nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
China Is the biggest winner from Africa’s new free trade bloc
28-Aug-2021 Foreign Policy
AfCFTA was supposed to usher in a new era of continental trade and economic growth—but Beijing’s not letting that happen.
China to accelerate pace of negotiations on new FTAs: MOFCOM
25-Aug-2021 Global Times
China is set to upgrade its current free trade agreements (FTAs) and is actively considering joining the CPTPP for further expansion of opening-up, as the agreements have played a vital role in Chinese foreign trade.
Protests in Pakistan erupt against China’s belt and road plan
24-Aug-2021 The Guardian
Protests have erupted in Pakistan’s port city Gwadar against a severe shortage of water and electricity and threats to livelihoods, part of a growing backlash against China’s multibillion-dollar belt and road projects in the country.
AfCFTA rules of origin talks drag
15-Aug-2021 The Southern Times
The full rollout of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is being delayed as countries haggle over the overarching agreement on rules of origin and tariff reduction schedules.
In Africa, Biden finds a free trade zone he can embrace
12-Aug-2021 Nikkei Asia
Eager to tap into a promising market while burnishing his administration’s credentials on free trade now that rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership looks as distant as ever, U.S. President Joe Biden appears ready to engage a new free trade zone in Africa.
Australia and India: A time to refocus on trade talks
9-Aug-2021 The Interpreter
In a drastically changed geopolitical scenario, developments in the Indo-Pacific, have brought Australia and India closer together as Comprehensive Strategic Partners.
How ‘blood mineral’ traders in Rwanda are helping fund Congo rebels – and undermining global supply chains
6-Aug-2021 The Globe and Mail
New evidence from a UN report and a high-profile investor arbitration case is casting a spotlight on Rwanda’s role in sophisticated smuggling networks that extract gold and coltan from Congolese conflict zones and funnel the strategically important minerals illicitly into global supply chains.
EU sets Uyghur and Hong Kong conditions for investment agreement
16-Jul-2021 Hindustan Times
The conditions have been listed in a draft report prepared by foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament.
Biden faces hard sell in Asia for anti-China digital trade pact
15-Jul-2021 Bloomberg
As the US mulls a digital trade agreement to counter China, it faces a key problem: Many countries in Asia don’t want to join any deal seen as challenging Beijing, whose tech giants are deeply entrenched in the region.
Unpacking an empty box? The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment
15-Jul-2021 SOMO
The recent tit-for-tat sanctions between the EU and China have cast a shadow over the deal’s future and frozen talks for the time being. But if the agreement reaches the finish line, what is at stake?
Ministry ready for more mini-FTAs
13-Jul-2021 Bangkok Post
Thailand aims to clinch deals to form deeper trade partnerships through "mini-FTAs" with Hainan, China and Telangana, India.
Biden team mulls digital trade deal to counter China in Asia
13-Jul-2021 Bloomberg
White House officials are discussing proposals for a digital trade agreement covering Indo-Pacific economies as the administration seeks ways to check China’s influence in the region.
India is now Africa’s third largest trading partner
12-Jul-2021 RTV News
Indian companies are flourishing well in overseas. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides a window to the Indian companies to tap a unified African market.