Hanoi(VNA) - Singapore and China will try their best to expedite talks on theRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Singaporean ForeignMinister Vivian Balakrishnan told reporters in Beijing on June 12 after meetingwith his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Meanwhile, Wang reaffirmedChina's position that the country will work to conclude RCEP negotiations assoon as possible.
RCEP talks werelaunched in 2012 with the participation of the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and theRepublic of Korea, but not the US. The nations have expressed hope of signing adeal by the end of the year, though previous targets have been missed.
RCEP is expectedto create a free trade area of 3.5 billion people, and its main focus is reducingtariffs. The RCEP negotiations have given new impetus by US President DonaldTrump's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.-VNA
Meanwhile, Wang reaffirmedChina's position that the country will work to conclude RCEP negotiations assoon as possible.
RCEP talks werelaunched in 2012 with the participation of the Association of Southeast AsianNations (ASEAN), China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and theRepublic of Korea, but not the US. The nations have expressed hope of signing adeal by the end of the year, though previous targets have been missed.
RCEP is expectedto create a free trade area of 3.5 billion people, and its main focus is reducingtariffs. The RCEP negotiations have given new impetus by US President DonaldTrump's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.-VNA
VNA
