Opinion | Why China is the ‘critical flaw’ in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

It is a mistake for the world’s biggest trade bloc to include China, a bad actor with little regard for the rule of law. Also, trade blocs can be cumbersome, and it is better to strike bilateral deals with trusted partners such as the US

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Ministers from 16 Asia-Pacific countries begin talks in Beijing on August 3, aimed at concluding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 1:00am, 20 Aug 2019Updated: 2:12am, 20 Aug 2019

For years, the United States has served as a leader in promoting free and open trade in the Indo-Pacific. However, recent negotiations have left the US disadvantaged and overburdened.

As a matter of national security, it is our responsibility to encourage free trade around the world, but not at the expense of the US.

I have often been asked whether pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a multinational trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region, was a wise decision for the US and its allies. My answer has been and will continue to be: yes.

The TPP served as a free-trade agreement among 11 Asia-Pacific countries and the US, excluding China for good reason. The TPP’s goal was to increase free trade in the region and establish defined rules between partner nations.

I see no reason that these forward-thinking nations should seek to include a nation like China in any trade negotiations when it has so little regard for the rule of law.

However, this trade deal – which was never ratified by the US Congress – placed heavy political and economic burdens on our country.

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