China- led trade agreement is signed

BEIJING » After eight years of talks, China and 14 other nations from Japan to New Zealand to Myanmar on Sunday formally signed one of the world’s largest regional free trade agreements, a pact shaped by Beijing partly as a counterweight to U. S. influence in the region.

The agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, is limited in scope. Still, it carries considerable symbolic heft. The pact covers more of humanity — 2.2 billion people — than any previous regional free trade agreement and could help further cement China’s image as the dominant economic power in its neighborhood.

It also comes after a retreat by the United States from sweeping trade deals that reshape global relationships. Nearly four years ago, President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans- Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a broader agreement than the RCEP that was widely seen as a Washington- led response to China’s growing sway in the Asia- Pacific region. Joe Biden, the presidentelect, has been noncommittal on whether he would join the TPP’s successor.

Premier Li Keqiang, China’s second- highest official after President Xi Jinping, called the pact “a victory of multilateralism and free trade” in a statement.

The RCEP encompasses the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The pact will most likely formalize, rather than remake, business between the countries.

The RCEP eliminates tariffs mainly for goods that already qualify for duty- free treatment under existing agreements. It allows countries to keep tariffs for imports in sectors they regard as especially important or sensitive. It has little impact on legal work, accounting or other services that cross borders, and does not venture far into intellectual property protections.

The RCEP also skirts broad issues such as protecting independent labor unions and the environment.

However, the pact does not include India, another regional giant. The New Delhi government pulled out of the negotiations in July.