FTAAP and China’s approach to Economic Regionalism

1. BelgianChinaStudiesNetworkInternationalConferenceonChina‘sFutureBelgianChinaStudiesNetworkInternationalConferenceonChina‘sFuture FTAAP and China’s approach to Economic Regionalism ZHANG, Zhenjiang School of International Studies, Jinan University, China June 20-21, 2019 Brussels,Belgium

2. contents • Origin and Development of FTAAP • Responses and Debates on FTAAP • China Taking over the Banner of FTAAP • China’s Approaches towards Economic regionalisms

3. Origin and Development of FTAAP • Expert report entitled "Preliminary Assessment of the FTAAP Program: A Document for ABAC " prepared in 2004, which was welcomed in the joint statement of the APEC Summit. • At the APEC summit held in Vietnam in 2006, the President of the United States gave high-profile support to this idea and called on all parties to "seriously consider" the establishment of the FTAAP. • In 2007 APEC Summit, FTAAP was mentioned in the leaders' declaration: "Through a series of practical and gradual steps, we will study the options and prospects of the FTAAP".

4. Responses and Debates on FTAAP

5. Responses and Debates on FTAAP • General difficulties • Differenteconomic development levels of members in Asia-Pacific • CollectiveGoodsProblems • Special difficulties for Asia-Pacific • The US strategy towards therisingEast Asia • PoliticalFeasibility

6. China Taking over the Banner of FTAAP • In 2014, the 22nd APEC Summit in Beijing, all participants reached a consensus on the APEC Promoting the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area BeijingRoadmap. • Chinese President Xi Jinping –an “Asia-Pacific dream” for the people in the region, “the Asia-Pacific community”. • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for “all Asia-Pacific countries should work together in building the FTAAP, and free trade arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region should be inclusive and promote each other rather than fragmented or exclusive

7. China’s approaches towards Economic regionalisms • For the global level, China positively supports the WTO and UN process and joins most of the international originations • For the regional and multilaterallevel, China signed China-ASEAN FTA in 2003 and 2010. In 2012, China-Japan-Korea FTA started in 2012. China also joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), initiated by the 10 ASEAN countries.

8. China’s approaches towards Economic regionalisms

9. China’s approaches towards Economic regionalisms • Competitive regionalisms in the Post-WTO Era • Comparative advantage: “World’s Factory” • RegionalismvsGlobalism: From Stumbling-blocks to Building-blocks

10. Thanks for your attention!