Asean countries and China should aim to complete talks on a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea in three years, even if negotiations prove to be tough and complicated.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is landing in Singapore hoping that by the time he leaves, Canada will know how to pursue freer trade with a 10-nation bloc of major suppliers and customers.
The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — a China-backed bid to complete the world’s largest trade deal without the United States — has been pushed back to 2019.
Leaders across Asia Pacific, including Myanmar, discussed at length the need for greater ASEAN solidarity and cooperation to withstand global protectionist policies on Monday and Tuesday in Singapore, as trade tensions brew between the US and China.
From Cambodian craftsmen to Indonesian sambal sellers, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs across South-east Asia will be able to tap with greater confidence the region's burgeoning e-commerce market in search of new customers.
Asian leaders gathered for a summit on Tuesday amid warnings that the post-World War II international order is in jeopardy and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing could trigger a "domino effect" of protectionist measures by other countries.
The ten-member ASEAN and its partners are meeting this week amid worries the US-China trade row will negatively impact the region. The summit is expected to see progress made on a China-backed regional trade pact.
Members of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), including the 10-member ASEAN, India and China, are likely to call for an expeditious conclusion of the mega-trade pact, instead of committing to a year-end deadline, when the heads of states meet in Singapore this week.
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
