Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham (Photo: AAP) Sydney (VNA) – Representatives from countries inthe Asia-Pacific region gathered in Melbourne, Australia on June 27 fornegotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Speaking to the media prior to the negotiation, AustralianTrade Minister Simon Birmingham said that all 16 countries engaging in the RCEPwill have secret talks on the contents of RCEP, one of the trade deal with greatesteconomic significance in the world.
He underlined that over the past years, the increase of globaltrade regulations has created economic miracles for Australia.
Although the country cannot help deal with the US-Chinatrade tension, it will seek new trade opportunities through promoting thesigning of multilateral agreements, he stated.
The minister said that Australia hopes that with the effortsof Australia and other countries in the region, the RCEP negotiations can beconcluded within this year.
Earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, ThaiPrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Indonesian Trade Minister EnggartiastoLukita showed their support to the idea that RCEP negotiations should befinished before the US-China trade tension escalates and causes long-termeconomic damage.
RCEP is considered one of the biggest trade deals in theworld, involving China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, NewZealand, and 10 ASEAN countries, which is home to 45 percent of the worldpopulation.
The combinedgross domestic product of the RCEP members accounts for up to 28 percent of theglobal GDP and 30 percent of the world trade value.-VNA
VNA
