Ding Qingfen, Zhang Yuwei and Chen Weihua
Wei's proposals come as the US
is aggressively expanding its influence in the Asia-Pacific region and expects
to grow its economy and create employment by taking advantage of the fast
economic growth in Asia .
The world's largest economy is advancing a trade agreement in Asia , known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to remove
trade and investment barriers among the nations involved. Nine countries,
including Australia
and Vietnam ,
have agreed to join the pact and set a goal of reaching a final agreement by
the end of this year. China
is not included.
Last year, Japan ,
the world's third-largest economy, also announced its desire to join the
Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, but the matter is pending. China is trying
to transform from a big exporter to a great consumer, while the US pledges to
double its exports in five years.
"Any approach by China
to initiate discussions with the US on a free trade agreement should
be welcome," said Vikram Nehru, senior associate of Southeast Asian
Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based
think tank. But he stressed that "China should be aware that US concerns
extend well beyond trade barriers and are likely to include 'behind-the-border'
trade issues."
These trade issues could involve explicit budgetary subsidies and implicit
policy-related subsidies to state enterprises. Regulations that shield state
enterprises from competition in domestic markets, such as restrictions on
government procurement and barriers that inhibit new firms from entering key
manufacturing and services sectors, could also be a problem, Nehru claimed.
The protection of intellectual property rights of US companies by the
Chinese legal system is also a big concern, Nehru said.
"I think the time has come for a new and bolder approach," Maurice
Greenberg, former chief of AIG and now chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr and Co,
said in an article in the Wall Street Journal in January. "China and the US should open
negotiations for a free trade agreement between our two countries," he
said.
"The negotiations will not be easy. There will be numerous impasses,
and the negotiations will probably last for many years. But discussing problems
in the context of driving toward a potential agreement is far better than
lengthy dialogues without an end result," Greenberg said.
"Even if we fail to reach an agreement on many issues, progress should
be possible on some issues, and that will create a better trade climate. The
alternative is that we drift along constantly irritating each other in a
low-grade trade war that will leave businesses and consumers in both countries
losers."
Many are worried about a trade war between the world's top two economies as
the US
recently announced the establishment of an interagency trade-enforcement unit
to investigate whether nations, including China , play by trade rules.
The US House of Representatives recently passed a bill allowing the US
Commerce Department to continue to charge countervailing duties worth $5
billion on imports from China .
But a China-US FTA may not be established soon. "In the short term,
talks on a China-US FTA are highly unlikely," said Zhang Yunling, director
of the Division of International Studies under the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences.
The US
is strongly committed to advancing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, setting up
trade rules in Asia based on its own wishes,
Zhang said.
There are many things that have to be addressed before the talks could
start, including the US recognising China's market economy status, an issue
that the two nations have long been arguing over.
© China Daily. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by arrangement with Asia News
Network.
The Daily Star, 18 March 2012
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