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geopolitics

China-Mauritius FTA goes into effect. But who benefits?
5-Jan-2021 TRT
China’s first FTA with an African country provides a stepping stone into the continent through the geopolitical hotspot Indo-Pacific region.
China’s Xi Jinping seeks advantage over Biden with ground-breaking EU investment deal
21-Dec-2020 CNBC
Though EU officials haven’t yet revealed the details, one senior EU diplomat said the agreement goes beyond anything Beijing has offered any foreign partner previously.
China’s push for FTA with S. Korea, Japan appears aimed at checking US influence
30-Nov-2020 Yonhap
China’s renewed pursuit of a free trade agreement with South Korea and Japan appears aimed at undercutting US influence and shaping regional economic cooperation on terms favorable to it.
UK undermines trust with China, may ruin FTA talks
27-Nov-2020 Global Times
The UK recently signaled an intention to reset its diplomatic relations, including with China. The UK seems inclined to take a more aggressive path towards China at a cost of obstructing a free trade agreement talks.
RCEP trade deal: US should worry less about China’s role and more about being left out
23-Nov-2020 South China Morning Post
The challenge is not that the world’s biggest trade deal is China-led or heralds a Sinocentric order – both of which are misrepresentations anyway – but that the Asia-Pacific region has shown no need of US leadership or even involvement.
India-China row sets new dimension for India’s economic partnership In Asia, albeit decoupling from RCEP – analysis
29-Oct-2020 Eurasia Review
India’s decoupling from China led to a number of harsh steps to undermine the trade and investment relations with China, despite the fact that Chinese investment set the turf for mobile phone manufacturing in the country.
Trade agreements are a powerful piece in the geopolitical chess game
28-Oct-2020 The San Diego Union Tribune
Trade agreements can be as powerful as military force for achieving a country’s strategic objectives.
China tensions push India and Taiwan closer together
27-Oct-2020 DW
India is seeing public opinion drastically shift in favor of Taiwan amid growing anti-Beijing sentiments. But will New Delhi risk its Asian rival’s wrath for stronger ties with Taipei?
Thailand’s trade agenda may be complicated and thwarted by raised tensions in the Indo Pacific
21-Oct-2020 Thai Examiner
The loss of India from the RCEP pact is a bitter blow to Thailand which had been looking forward to becoming a partner with India’s technology sector which is also very close to that of the United States.
Why Modi govt’s FTA policy for India must turn to ‘natural allies’ US, UK and Europe now
20-Oct-2020 The Print
Narendra Modi government is also proactively stepping up its efforts to rejig India’s trade relations with the rest of the world by overhauling its Free Trade Agreement or FTA strategy.
How China came to champion free trade
12-Oct-2020 Asia Times
The Chinese government has been strengthening legal protection of intellectual property for many years – for China’s own benefit, not to keep the Americans or anyone else happy. So how much has been accomplished, how much remains to be done, and why?
The more the merrier in Indo-Pacific
29-Sep-2020 Bangkok Post
As of last week, there are at least 8 distinctive cooperative frameworks relating to the Indo-Pacific region, which reflects the region’s growing economic and strategic importance within the rapidly-changing international stage.
US tells Kenya to publicly support Israel or forget free trade deal
21-Sep-2020 The East African
The US indicates that the deal with Kenya should, with respect to commercial partnerships, discourage actions that prejudice or discourage business between the US and Israel.
Australia seeks to further boost trade & ties with India to cut dependence on China
16-Sep-2020 The Print
Australia’s escalating tensions with Beijing have shown up its reliance on China trade and propelled a push to increase links with Asia’s other giant economy, India.
The path forward for Asean
14-Sep-2020 Bangkok Post
Now most countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia, are not only facing the economic and social repercussions of a protracted outbreak but also witnessing emerging trends that will permanently change the way we live and do business.
Economic diplomacy: Borders, barriers and obstacles
11-Sep-2020 The Interpreter
The big reshoring question is still about how much foreign investment will shift from China due to a combination of rising production costs and more fractious diplomatic relationships.
Indo-Pacific guidelines: Germany’s new China plan
3-Sep-2020 Pledge Times
Berlin wants to diversify its relations, position itself more broadly, conclude further free trade agreements – also in order to no longer be so dependent on Beijing.
The RCEP talks and India’s anxieties
22-Jul-2020 ORF Online
The biggest concern of India with RCEP at this juncture is not merely the economic reasons, but more geopolitical: the existence of China.
Trumping the US; China could join the CPTPP
2-Jun-2020 Politik
As political and trade tensions with the United States rise, and its image as a global leader is tarnished by riots, China has indicated it could join the CPTPP which New Zealand belongs to.
“Modi Diplomacy” and the future of Japan-India relations
18-May-2020 Nippon
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been walking a tightrope between the United States and China even as it nurses its own ambitions for global leadership. Horimoto Takenori assesses the role of the Japan-India relationship in this dynamic context.