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geopolitics

Analyzing China’s TPP bid
1-Mar-2022 Nippon
China applied to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and some analysts see it as a Chinese declaration that even with the elimination of tariffs, the country’s products can hold their own now.
RCEP: A geopolitical gain for China
3-Feb-2022 Modern Diplomacy
China has won a big geopolitical win with the RCEP as the deal improves Asia’s economic connectivity closing to China’s economic orbit as a result of tighter integration.
The US doesn’t need CPTPP to assert itself in the Asia-Pacific
3-Feb-2022 Newsnero
Trade deals are important, but they are neither necessary nor sufficient for American foreign policy to prevail in the Asia-Pacific region.
China and Gulf states pledge to ’inject new impetus’ into talks on free trade agreement
17-Jan-2022 Middle East Eye
Beijing and Gulf states say they are committed to reviving long-dormant talks aimed at reaching a free trade agreement, as they look to strengthen ties and deepen economic cooperation in the face of strained relations with the West.
RCEP: Between geopolitics and geo-economics
3-Jan-2022 Asia Times
With RCEP coming into play on January 1, the divergences that started way back in 2013 will reach a tipping point.
Australia urges US to push back on ‘digital authoritarianism’
8-Dec-2021 The Sydney Morning Herald
The Morrison government is pushing the Biden administration to strike a digital free trade agreement with democracies across the Indo-Pacific in a bid to counter China’s “digital authoritarianism”.
The geopolitics of China’s CPTPP move
3-Dec-2021 Bangkok Post
Nowhere is the intersection between geopolitics and geoeconomics more evident than the accession negotiations under the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The CPTPP isn’t just a trade deal for Taiwan, it’s a survival plan
22-Nov-2021 East Asia Forum
Taipei could not afford to wait to request entry once Beijing got in the game. Yet the CPTPP is at the heart of mapping out Taiwan’s long-term survival, not just a means to remain competitive in global markets.
Xi Jinping, speaking at APEC, pledges market reforms in bid to join Asia-Pacific trade bloc
12-Nov-2021 South China Morning Post
President Xi Jinping on Thursday pledged a raft of economic reforms as part of China’s efforts to join a Pacific Rim trade pact abandoned four years ago by the US and warned against efforts to “draw ideological lines” in the Asia-Pacific region.
‘EU agrees on cooperation with Taipei’
8-Nov-2021 Taipei Times
European Parliament’s committee President said that he would continue to push for closer ties between the EU and Taiwan, and advocate for a bilateral investment agreement.
The Asia-Pacific’s free trade disagreements
2-Nov-2021 The Diplomat
It’s not just the different agreements, per se – the distinctly different models of FTAs are complicating trade regimes in the region.
SADC countries unhappy with major new framework for relations with the EU
2-Nov-2021 Daily Maverick
Southern African countries have rattled the European Union by indicating they might reopen negotiations on a major new, long-range framework for relations between Europe and developing countries that has already been accepted by all sides.
Australia says EU has postponed free trade talks for second time
25-Oct-2021 Reuters
The European Union has postponed the next round of free trade talks with Australia for a second time, the Australian trade minister said, amid simmering anger over Canberra’s decision to cancel a $40 billion contract with France.
Geopolitics behind NZ-UK free trade deal
22-Oct-2021 RNZ
For now, New Zealand’s free trade deal with the UK might be about building back butter - but it could end up being more about Beijing.
CPTPP members must be wary of China’s attempt to join trade pact
21-Oct-2021 Nikkei Asia
Until Beijing demonstrates a credible commitment to abiding by the rules and ceases to use its economic might as a tool of coercion against other states, allowing it to join the CPTPP would be a serious mistake.
Making sense of Sudan’s move against Petronas
20-Oct-2021 New Straits Times
Sudan’s government confiscated Petronas’s assets on the grounds that they were acquired "through illegal means" during Omar al-Bashir’s regime. Some argue that Sudan is turning on its allies "under the pretext of fighting corruption".
Taiwan questions China’s suitability for Pacific trade pact, fears ’obstruction’
1-Oct-2021 Reuters
China’s restrictive practices present fundamental problems for its application to join a major pan-Pacific free trade pact, and if it joins before Taiwan there is a risk it could block their application.
China wants to join the trade pact once designed to counter it
22-Sep-2021 Foreign Policy
CPTPP members will have a robust discussion on China’s application. It’s hard to argue that Beijing’s trade regime will be in line anytime soon with CPTPP disciplines on state-owned enterprises, labor, digital trade, and intellectual property protection, among other concerns.
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.
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.