Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (left) shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi before a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on June 12, 2017. (Greg Baker / AP)
BEIJING - China and Singapore will do their best to expedite talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Singapore's foreign minister said, calling the potential pact a statement on the importance of free trade.
The Beijing-backed RCEP has been given new impetus by US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.
If we can successfully conclude these negotiations quickly, it will be an important statement in favor of free trade and economic integration
Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister, Singapore
The two trade deals are not mutually exclusive, and some countries would be members of both.
But Singapore's prime minister has said that the US' exit from the TPP had hurt confidence in US policies. Beijing is also increasingly positioning itself as a global free trade champion.
"If we can successfully conclude these negotiations quickly, it will be an important statement in favor of free trade and economic integration," Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said after meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
"At this point in time, it is more necessary than ever before," Balakrishnan said.
Wang repeated China's position that it would work to conclude RCEP negotiations as soon as possible.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is joined in RCEP talks by China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, but not the US.
Nations party to the talks, launched in 2012 and expected to create a free trade area of several billion people, have expressed hope of signing a deal by the end of the year, though previous targets have been missed.
The RCEP is less comprehensive than the TPP and the main focus is reducing tariffs. Coverage of services is more modest than in the TPP, and it would not have protection for labor rights or the environment.
Balakrishnan also said that both he and Wang had agreed that bilateral relations between China and Singapore were "stable, calm, and positive".
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