China trumping US leadership in Asia: Obama
January 21, 2015, 7:32 am

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Obama said China must not be allowed to write trade rules for Asia [Image: White House]

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Obama said China must not be allowed to write trade rules for Asia. Obama was referring to China’s regional FTA talks, the RCEP, as well as the mammoth China-backed Asia-Pacific FTA negotiations that was launched in November last year at the APEC summit.

“But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world’s fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and businesses at a disadvantage. Why would we let that happen? We should write those rules. We should level the playing field. That’s why I’m asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren’t just free, but fair,” said Obama.

A Wall Street Journal report had said the US was trying to block China’s efforts at introducing the Asia Pacific FTA negotiations.

The China-backed Asia Pacific FTA, if implemented, will add an estimated $2.4 trillion to the global economy, says a new survey by Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC).

The survey also said the US-led TPP trade pact, when completed, will add about $223 billion and the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) about $644 billion.

Beijing is trying to counter US’ progress in forming a Trans-Pacific Partnership that excludes China by this alternate mega Free Trade Agreement in the Asia Pacific.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow will also support China’s push for a roadmap on the Asia Pacific FTA.

“Obviously, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is just another U.S. attempt to build an architecture of regional economic cooperation that the USA would benefit from. At the same time, I believe that the absence of two major regional players such as Russia and China in its composition will not promote the establishment of effective trade and economic cooperation,” said Putin in November last year.

Meanwhile, China and India are not included in the US-led TPP trade pact.

“We’re organising trade relations with countries other than China so that China starts feeling more pressure about meeting basic international standards,” Obama said referring to the TPP in a presidential debate in 2012.

In his SOTU address on Tuesday, the US President claimed US manufacturers “have added almost 800,000 new jobs” since 2010. He also vowed to “bring jobs home” that have been lost to cheaper manufacturing hubs abroad.

“More than half of manufacturing executives have said they’re actively looking at bringing jobs back from China. Let’s give them one more reason to get it done,” said Obama.

There were, however, roughly 2 million manufacturing jobs lost in America between December 2007 and June 2009.

TBP