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04/11/2019

Seven years on, still no RCEP trade deal, and India pulls out

Hopes were high a regional summit could finally wrap up negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
But despite claims of ‘significant progress’ in the 16-nation talks, India remains a stumbling block

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s Premier Li Keqiang attend the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Summit in Bangkok. Photo: AFP

Fifteen of the countries involved in negotiating a mammoth 16-nation Asian trade pact were on Monday hoping to seal the deal after seven years of talks but faced a fresh setback as India signalled it was pulling out over terms that were against New Delhi’s interests.

A joint statement by all 16 states involved in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) said 15 economies had “concluded text-based negotiations for all 20 chapters and essentially all their market access issues”, and would undertake legal scrubbing of the proposed pact before a formal signing in 2020.

But “India has significant outstanding issues, which remained unresolved”, the statement said.

“All RCEP participating countries will work together to resolve these outstanding issues in a mutually satisfactory way. India’s final decision will depend on satisfactory resolution of these issues.”

Multiple Indian media outlets reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told a Monday evening meeting of leaders from the RCEP countries that “neither the talisman of [Mahatma Gandhi] nor my own conscience permit me to join the RCEP”.

“When I measure the RCEP agreement, with respect to the interest of Indians, I don’t get a positive answer,” he was quoted as saying.

Indians protest against the Modi-led government’s backing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Photo: AFP

Henry Gao, a law professor at the Singapore Management University focusing on international trade law, said an RCEP without India would be “even more worthwhile” for the so-called RCEP-15.

He cited two reasons: India’s “low ambitions” for the pact, and the high level of integration among the countries of East and Southeast Asia which are part of the RCEP-15.

“A mega trade deal like RCEP will only further accelerate the integration process and greatly boost trade and economic growth in the region,” Gao said.

Explained: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

Earlier expectations were that the joint statement would declare at least a “substantial conclusion”, “near conclusion” or “in principle conclusion” of the RCEP, which aims to create a free-trade zone spanning 39 per cent of the world economy.

The phrasing used to describe the progress of negotiations is being closely parsed because, since it requires endorsement from all RCEP countries, it accurately captures the sentiment of all the 16 negotiating teams.

Last year, Singapore, as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), pushed for a conclusion of the deal, but eventually the joint statement declared that only “substantial progress” had been made.

Asean countries plus six others are negotiating the trade pact. Photo: AFP

Indian media, citing government sources, said the pact’s inadequate protection against import surges, the possible circumvention of rules of origin, and a lack of “credible assurances” on market access and non-tariff barriers, proved too much for New Delhi to swallow.

India,

facing fierce domestic criticism for being in the pact despite opposition even from

Modi’s

Hindu nationalist support base, last week piled on a fresh set of demands that other countries balked at, negotiators from Southeast Asian countries said over the weekend.

Furious efforts that continued up to Sunday night failed to bridge the gap between India and the 15 countries.

India’s concerns about RCEP remain the major obstacle to world’s largest trade deal

Indian critics of the RCEP say the deal will have a ruinous impact on the South Asian economy, which has trade deficits with the other 15 countries.

The biggest opposition has come from the country’s long protected industries, such as its dairy sector, which fears it could be wiped out by lower tariffs on Australian and New Zealand products that would result from the RCEP.

Indian government sources on Monday said the country had not made last-minute demands, but Southeast Asian negotiators said major demands were made as late as Thursday.

Gao, the Singapore-based law professor, said it “makes sense for India to stay out” as it would have faced “a lot of competition from Chinese manufactured products” if it were part of the deal.

“India could temporarily shield its firms from Chinese competition by staying out, but whether this will work in the long term is a different question,” he said.

Source: SCMP

Posted in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australian products, Chinese manufactured products, Chinese premier Li Keqiang, conscience, India alert, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mahatma gandhi, negotiations, New Delhi, New Zealand products, pulls out, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), seven years, Singapore, Singapore Management University, Southeast Asian negotiators, talisman, trade deal, Uncategorized, World economy | Leave a Comment »

28/08/2019

Chinese man prevented from visiting Indian family

In 1963, a former Chinese army surveyor crossed into India and was captured weeks after a war between the two countries. Wang Qi was then left in a central Indian town for more than five decades before he was allowed to travel back home to China in 2017.

The BBC reported his story at the time and videos of the emotional family reunion in China were watched by millions.

But now, more than 30 months later, his story has taken an unexpected turn – Mr Wang is stuck in China and unable to return to India.

He has been waiting for more than four months for officials to renew his Indian visa so that he can travel back to India where his children and grandchildren live.

“Why are they doing this? I’ve been fighting for such a long time. How much longer can I fight?” Mr Wang told me over the phone from his home city of Xianyang.

The BBC has emailed the Indian embassy in Beijing and is yet to receive a response.

Born to a farmer family in Shaanxi with four brothers and two sisters, he studied surveying and joined China’s People’s Liberation Army in 1960.

Mr Wang says he was “tasked with building roads for the Chinese army” and was captured when he “strayed erroneously” into Indian territory in January 1963.

Wang Qi in Chinese army uniform — Image caption He joined China’s People’s Liberation Army in 1960

“I had gone out of my camp for a stroll but lost my way. I was tired and hungry. I saw a Red Cross vehicle and asked them to help me. They handed me over to the Indian army,” he said.

After he was captured, he spent the next seven years in multiple prisons before he was released by a court order in 1969.

Police took him to Tirodi, a far-flung village in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, where he ended up living for most of his life.

Instead he worked at a flour mill, eventually marrying a local woman and raising a family with her. Neighbours said they lived in “utter poverty”.

It was never clear whether Mr Wang was actually a prisoner of war. But he was denied official Indian documents or citizenship, and he was also denied permission to return to China. Officials told the BBC in 2017 that there were “deficiencies” and a “lack of interest” in the case over the years.

A Chinese passport holder, Mr Wang was reunited with his family in China in 2017. After the BBC reported his story, he received a one-year multiple entry Indian visa.

Media caption Wang Qi did not see his family in China for decades

He kept coming back to India to meet his wife, children and grandchildren who continued to live here.

When Mr Wang first arrived in China, he received a rapturous welcome. Crowds met him with banners reading, “Welcome home, soldier, it’s been a rough journey”.

But according to Mr Wang’s son, Vishnu, his father’s request to local officials to clear his salary for the period of his stay in India, remains unanswered.

Vishnu also adds that it’s unclear if his father still has any claim to ancestral property in China after being away for so many years.

“He was ecstatic to have met his family after decades. He didn’t want anything else.”

In 2017, Mr Wang rushed back to India to take care of his wife, who was hospitalised due to “liver complications”.

“Getting funds for the expensive treatment was very difficult. We tried everywhere, begged for money but didn’t receive any response,” Vishnu says.

She died within a fortnight.

Mr Wang with his family — Image caption Mr Wang married an Indian woman and raised a family with her

“My father’s visa was renewed in 2018. He applied again in April 2019 but he is still waiting,” Vishnu adds.

Xianyang and Beijing, where the Indian embassy is located, are more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) apart – and travelling between the two cities isn’t easy for Mr Wang, who is nearly 80 years old, Vishnu says.

“My father is fed up. He doesn’t understand why this is taking so long.”

Source: The BBC

Posted in Beijing, brothers, building roads, camp, captured, children, Chinese army, Chinese man, Chinese passport holder, Court order, ecstatic, father, flour mill, grandchildren, hospitalised, hungry, India alert, indian army, Indian citizenship, Indian embassy, Indian family, Indian Territory, Indian visa, liver complications, Madhya Pradesh, multiple prisons, official Indian documents, People's Liberation Army, Police, prevented, prisoner of war, Red Cross, released, rushed back, seven years, shaanxi province, sisters, strayed erroneously, stroll, surveying, tired, Tirodi, Uncategorized, vehicle, Vishnu, visiting, wife, Xianyang | Leave a Comment »

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