OPINION-Chinaࢀ™s Multilateral Economic Diplomacy: Implications for HK, Macau and Taiwan

The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by 15 Asia-Pacific nations on November 15 can be seen as not only a triumph of Chinaࢀ™s multilateral economic diplomacy but also having implications for the external economic relations of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. After eight years of negotiations that started from November 2012, 15 Asia-Pacific states signed the landmark trade agreement with the absence from the US and India. Leaders from the Peopleࢀ™s Republic of China (PRC), Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) witnessed the signing of the…