China mulls bid for Apec free-trade area to taunt US, tantalise Asia

China is increasingly expected to push for a trade agreement binding a wide swathe of the Pacific Rim, including the US, when it hosts a forum of major Asia-Pacific economies in November, but a real deal may be hard to secure as Washington is likely to resist, according to analysts.

The anticipated push for the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), covering all 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, would – even if unsuccessful – earn Beijing goodwill from other Pacific Rim countries because it would be proposing action to cut export costs, they said.

“It should be high on the agenda especially given [US President Donald] Trump’s anti-international trade position and his constant tariff threats,” said Chen Zhiwu, chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong.