RCEP

Hainan is where China tests its next opening model

Hainan Free Trade Port is China’s testbed for a new opening model — centred on institutions, ecosystem-building and two-way cooperation. Rather than sidelining Singapore, this points to a broader and more integrated regional economic architecture. Academic Gu Qingyang shares his views.

Gu Qingyang

The impacts of US tariff hikes on Southeast Asian economies

US tariff hikes on Chinese goods have raised US imports from Southeast Asia. The medium- and long-term impacts are more uncertain and potentially disruptive; the region must be on guard.

Maria Monica Wihardja

Is the Hong Kong economy really in demise?

While naysayers have painted a doomsday scenario for Hong Kong since the plummeting of the Hang Seng Index, EAI senior research fellow Yu Hong points to Hong Kong's strong fundamentals, the vitality of the Greater Bay Area and the knock-on effects of the recovery of the mainland economy. He notes that as long as the mainland economy continues to grow, the Hong Kong stock market will remain attractive to regional and global investors.

Yu Hong

China's application to join CPTPP comes to the fore, after the UK's entry

​With the UK's addition to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the question of the next applicant, China, joining comes front and centre. Other applicants like Taiwan, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Uruguay are also keen to be part of a grouping that could become the largest free trade area in the world. Academic Min-Hua Chiang outlines the stakes involved.

Min-Hua Chiang

Q&A: Malaysia's new trade minister explains why China matters to Southeast Asia

Caixin sat down for an exclusive interview with Malaysia's new Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in January. He spoke about Malaysia's and ASEAN's relations with China, and his thoughts on regional and global trade.

Caixin Global

Heng Swee Keat: Singapore and China will build better future for region and the world

Ahead of the 18th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meetings between Singapore and China - the first to be held in person since the outbreak of the pandemic - Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat sets out a few priorities in taking Singapore-China relations to new heights.

Heng Swee Keat

[Future of China] China's ten-year-old BRI needs a revamp

The BRI's implementation will be slowing down as a result of multiple factors ranging from the global Covid-19 pandemic, the shift in the global geostrategic environment and the Chinese economic slowdown. As it changes its model to suit change, it could focus more on sustainable financing for BRI countries and lower the long-term financial impacts of loans for infrastructure projects. It could also pursue "third-party market cooperation" as a flexible approach in its pursuit of cooperation with other countries under the BRI umbrella. This is the second in a five-part series of articles on the future of China.

Yu Hong

Biden has good strategies, but can he implement them?

Chinese academic Zhang Jingwei notes that while US President Joe Biden has cast a wider net in building alliances compared with his predecessors, much of these frameworks are lacking in substance. Will the US be able to benefit from them and use them against its strategic rival China?

Zhang Jingwei

India's choice: Pro-US, pro-China or stay autonomous?

With his visit to Asia in May and the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity which includes India, US President Joe Biden clearly seeks to recast the strategic environment in which China operates. On its part, China had earlier launched the Global Security Initiative and is articulating its vision of a changing world order. For India, therefore, the long-term choice is either strategic autonomy, or the role of a pro-US or even pro-China "swing state".

P. S. Suryanarayana

Chinese membership in the CPTPP: Greater benefits than downside risks

A study has shown that if China joins the CPTPP, global income gains from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will quadruple to US$632 billion annually. With an eye to the economic benefits, a majority of Southeast Asians view China's membership of the CPTPP positively, the 2022 State of Southeast Asia survey report finds. ISEAS researcher Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy further notes that Chinese membership of the CPTPP will help to ease China-US trade tensions. However, there are concerns about China's ability to abide by the rules of the CPTPP.

Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy

Chan Chun Sing: Singapore amid great power rivalry

Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing gave the speech titled "Singapore amid Great Power Rivalry" at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Fullerton Lecture on 9 November 2021. He said countries around the world possess some agency even amid great power competition, and Singapore can work together with like-minded partners to help build a better world. And while the US and China might feel their differences sharply, there could be more common interests between them than they would probably want to acknowledge, as both countries share a single global system and biosphere with the rest of the world. Here is the full transcript of his speech.

Chan Chun Sing

How can China benefit from the CPTPP?

China has made it clear that it wants to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This will allow it to strengthen its image as an advocate of free trade, gain some cover from future sanctions by the US, and most importantly, spur domestic reform. Academic Gu Qingyang delves into the topic.

Gu Qingyang