Big-power rivalries over FTAs casts shadow on APEC Summit

Amid growing big-power rivalries, China today rolled out the red carpet for world leaders including US President Barack Obama at the APEC Summit which got off to a colourful start here today.
The 22nd summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), one of the biggest collection of world leaders, is being hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who took office last year of the world's second largest economy.
While not much is expected out of the summit due to the strategic rivalry between US, its allies and China, it has already achieved certain political breakthrough specially in ending a two-year long China-Japan spat over the disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The differences between the US and China over rival free trade agreements threatens to derail the summit attended by the 21 members of the grouping.
Addressing the APEC CEO meet after his arrival here to take part in the summit, President Obama asserted that Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) being floated by Washington is the best for the region.
If completed it will bring 40 per cent of global economy under an agreement for increasing trade, jobs, high standards for workers and intellectual protection, he said.

"If China and the United States can work together, the world benefits," he said.
Obama noted that enhancing China's integration to the world economy is in "US' best interest and the world's best interest."

"We want China to do well. We compete for business, but we also seek to cooperate on a broad range of shared challenges and shared opportunities" in fighting Ebola spread, stopping nuclear proliferation, deepening clear energy partnership, and combating climate change, he said.
China, the world's largest trading nation, is concerned because TPP excludes it.
TPP is backed by Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, all sharing close ties with Washington.
To avert its exclusion, China is aggressively pushing Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) in which US has shown little interest.

Chinese President Xi said the FTAAP does not go against existing free trade arrangements in the region.
"The FTAAP does not go against existing free trade arrangements, which are the potential pathways to realise the FTAAP goals," Xi said.
The FTAAP can be the "aggregation" of existing free trade arrangements, he said.
The aim of pushing forward the FTAAP process is to consolidate the regional integration and define long-term goals, he said.
This is the largest event being hosted by China after the 2008 Olympics.