Beyond Trump. China’s aggressive trade agenda
For all the column inches devoted to the Trump-driven trade wars, it’s worth remembering that 94% of China’s exports go to markets outside of the US.
And China is stepping up its trade agenda and signing a raft of free trade deals to give its companies access to overseas markets. China has concluded 17 global free-trade agreements (FTAs), is currently negotiating another 14, and is at preliminary stages with nine other parties as of November 2019.
One of these agreements, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership stands out. That links China with nine other Asian in a free-trade union. The deal, will further integrate China into link with 16 economies in Asia, including India, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam, at a time when the IMF projects the region is projected to lead global growth, with 6%+ annual GDP growth forecast in 2019 and 2020.
