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Commentary: Fast-forwarding the FTAAP

Xinhua, November 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Speeding up the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) process is a must as global economic recovery remains tame at best, trade and investment are weak and a backlash against economic globalization is on the horizon.

Addressing the APEC CEO Summit in Lima, Peru, Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping described the FTAAP as "a strategic initiative critical for the long-term prosperity of the Asia-Pacific" and urged relevant sides to "firmly pursue the FTAAP as an institutional mechanism for ensuring an open economy in the Asia-Pacific."

The call has been well received throughout the region, and action is now required to accelerate the process that was launched at the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing.

The significance and urgency of the FTAAP have increased amid the threat of rising protectionism in the region, and the WTO expectation that growth of global trade will slow for the fifth year in 2016.

If established, the FTAAP will be one of the largest FTAs in the world, covering 57 percent of the global economy and nearly half of the trade. An open and inclusive FTA gathering such a wide range of economies would invigorate regional and global trade.

The FTAAP would reduce the fragmentation caused by separate, non-inclusive FTAs. By the end of 2015, 160 FTAs had been signed between APEC members, including over 60 regional FTAs.

Integration of these FTAs with their divergent rules and standards that puzzle businesses and impede trade and investment, is long overdue.

The FTAAP would be huge for the region and the world. A survey by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council concluded that the FTAAP add an estimated 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars of output to the global economy by 2025.

The benefit of establishing the FTAAP goes far beyond rebooting the global economy. The world is thirsty for an open and inclusive FTA to rekindle the enthusiasm for free trade.

As Xi said on Saturday, any regional trade arrangement must be open, inclusive and beneficial to all. The FTAAP stresses inclusiveness, with greater regional economic integration and potential for a more equal distribution of wealth. These principles represent perhaps the best kind of arrangement, bringing a group of the world's most diverse economies together under the same set of trade and investment rules.

There is no doubt that daunting challenges abound in establishing such a trade pact. However, given the expectations of the region and the world, the effort should be worth it. Endi