Leaders looking at new options
UNCERTAINTY: Some countries considering China’s RCEP if TPP pact does not move forward
LEADERS of Pacific Rim nations opened their annual summit today, looking to find new free trade options after United States President-elect Donald Trump signalled a possible end to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact.
US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin had arrived here for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting, whose members’ economies represent 57 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrived here on Friday night.
This year’s Apec summit, the last for Obama, is set against economic uncertainty and concern over mounting anti-globalisation sentiment.
Trump, while campaigning in the US presidential election, had spoken against the TPP and other free trade pacts, saying they had stolen US jobs.
Najib and other leaders were due to meet Obama on the sidelines of the Apec summit to discuss the fate of the 12-member TPP pact.
Malaysia, Japan, Australia and some other TPP members want to bring the TPP agreement into force.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, who met his counterparts from the US, Australia and Peru on Thursday, said most TPP members wanted to press ahead with the pact, although they would not rush into making a firm decision.
“There are those who feel that the US should be given more time to decide on its participation in the TPP (following Trump’s win),” Mustapa told Malaysian media.
Though Obama championed the TPP as a way to counter China’s rise, his administration had stopped trying to win congressional approval for the deal signed between 12 economies in the Americas and Asia-Pacific region, but excluding China. Without US approval, the agreement cannot bear fruit.
China, instead, has been promoting the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which, as it stands, excludes the Americas.
“We are seeing people around the table here talking that if the TPP does not move forward, then they’re going to have to put their eggs in the RCEP basket,” said US Trade Representative Michael Froman.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took domestic political risks to back the US-initiated trade deal, visited Trump in New York on Thursday to hear from the president-elect himself.
At the summit proper, Najib and other Apec leaders will discuss ways to strengthen cooperation and foster a future of prosperity and sustainable growth for the region, which has 2.8 billion people.
He will participate in two retreat sessions and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Najib and the other leaders will also attend an informal dialogue with Pacific Alliance countries.
They will also attend interactive sessions with Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg and International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde on matters involving the digital age and economy.
Najib, accompanied by his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, arrived at Jorge Chavez International Airport here at 8.27pm local time and was welcomed by Peruvian Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio.
Prior to the Apec summit, he was on a three-day working visit to Japan early this week, discussing with Abe on ways to deepen economic ties.
The latter also attended the summit.