FILE PHOTO: Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) sits next to Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh as they watch a screen showing Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan (R) signing next to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during the virtual signing ceremony of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement during the 37th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam November 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kham
November 17, 2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday said it was concerned the United States was being left behind after China and 15 other Asia-Pacific economies on Sunday formed the world’s largest free trade bloc, cementing China’s dominant role in regional trade.
The Chamber welcomed the trade-liberalizing benefits of the new Regional Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (RCEP), but said Washington should not join the new trade bloc given its shortcomings.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Sandra Maler)
