Philippinepolicepushedbackcrowdswithwatercanons in Manila on Thursday as demonstrators protested the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, soonaftermemberstatesagreed that the the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreementwould be signed on February 4, 2016 in New Zealand, EFE reports.
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Meanwhile, Abe and his wife sat next to U.S. President Obama during a banquet held on Wednesday while Park sat next to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, drawing media attention for illustrating the closer ties between Japan and the U.S.
“It is crucial that cooperation should be promoted based on common interests, rather than letting multilateralism take the upper hand and allowing one particular country write the rules for worldwide trade and investment in the 21st century”.
Summit host, the Philippines, deliberately sought to keep at bay tensions between Beijing and Washington over the South China Sea even though it is one of the claimants to a strategic waterway where China has been building artificial islands.
This acceleration should take place at an early date, Xi said in a speech at the annual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, in Manila.
“The world economy continues to confront significant risk and uncertainty”, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III told reporters at the end of the summit.
Asia Pacific leaders called Thursday for more global cooperation in the struggle against terrorism, as a wave of deadly attacks claimed by the Islamic State group dominated the final day of a regional trade summit. The meeting’s official agenda is focused on trade, business and economic issues but terrorism, South China Sea disputes and climate change are also set to be in focus.
But the TPP faces stiff opposition from both Democrats and Republicans over farm tariffs and protection for pharmaceuticals, and is unlikely to be voted on by the US Congress before Mr Obama leaves office.
President Obama met separately this week with leaders from the 11 other APEC nations that are part of the TPP to urge them to soon ratify the deal.
Mr Obama is also wrestling with China, which is pushing for a broader trade agreement: the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).
“We need to encourage equal footing participation and extensive consultation and make free trade arrangements open and inclusive to the extent possible, ” Xi said.
The U.S.-led TPP trade deal, involving 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region, excludes countries like China due to its so-called “high-standards” which China fails to meet. “But we are confident that it is going to get done and we are going to be able to implement effectively the provisions and the ideas that have come forward during the course of these discussions”, said Obama.
The trade initiative could be an excellent opportunity for Beijing to embark on drastic reforms, just as it did more than a decade ago when it was facing fierce domestic opposition to reforms in an attempt to join the World Trade Organization, experts say.
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The lawmaker also said the Philippines is now primed to play a more important role in regional economic development.
