US green trade push may be too ambitious, China says
Source: Agencies |
November 8, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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US goals of establishing regional free trade and an environmental policy at the APEC summit are useful but too ambitious for some developing nations, China said yesterday, days before President Hu Jintao heads to Hawaii for the meeting.
APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) members from 20 countries have taken a "fundamentally supportive attitude" of the US proposals for green growth and innovation to be raised at the leaders' meeting in Honolulu this weekend, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Hailong said.
"But expectations for outcomes are too high and beyond the reach of members from developing countries," Wu told reporters during a joint briefing with China's Commerce Ministry.
Sorely lacking jobs at home and looking for ways to cement the US presence in Asia, the Obama administration wants to drive forward the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact among nine nations on the sidelines of APEC.
The US eventually hopes to expand the deal from the current nine countries - the United States, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, Peru, Malaysia and Brunei - to all 21 members of APEC, which account for about 54 percent of the world's economic output and 44 percent of global trade.
Part of the initiative would be language that ensures state-owned enterprises (SOEs) do not benefit from government subsidies not available to privately owned firms.
The SOE issue is likely to discourage the participation of China, where many critical industries are controlled by state-backed firms.
"We haven't participated in the talks, so we cannot comment. The threshold is high. Whether a standard can be achieved, we'll just have to wait and see," Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce Yu Jianhua said when asked about the US goals for SOEs in the deal.
China has said it supports free trade in the Asia-Pacific region and will watch progress on the TPP. But experts say China prefers other regional frameworks that would not force it to open its markets at the behest of the United States.
Those deals might include a China-Japan-South Korea deal, as well as the 10+1, 10+3, 10+6 frameworks - talks among Association of Southeast Asian Nations members and other Asia-Pacific countries.
Hu will meet with US President Barack Obama at the summit, as well as other national leaders.
APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) members from 20 countries have taken a "fundamentally supportive attitude" of the US proposals for green growth and innovation to be raised at the leaders' meeting in Honolulu this weekend, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Hailong said.
"But expectations for outcomes are too high and beyond the reach of members from developing countries," Wu told reporters during a joint briefing with China's Commerce Ministry.
Sorely lacking jobs at home and looking for ways to cement the US presence in Asia, the Obama administration wants to drive forward the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact among nine nations on the sidelines of APEC.
The US eventually hopes to expand the deal from the current nine countries - the United States, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, Peru, Malaysia and Brunei - to all 21 members of APEC, which account for about 54 percent of the world's economic output and 44 percent of global trade.
Part of the initiative would be language that ensures state-owned enterprises (SOEs) do not benefit from government subsidies not available to privately owned firms.
The SOE issue is likely to discourage the participation of China, where many critical industries are controlled by state-backed firms.
"We haven't participated in the talks, so we cannot comment. The threshold is high. Whether a standard can be achieved, we'll just have to wait and see," Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce Yu Jianhua said when asked about the US goals for SOEs in the deal.
China has said it supports free trade in the Asia-Pacific region and will watch progress on the TPP. But experts say China prefers other regional frameworks that would not force it to open its markets at the behest of the United States.
Those deals might include a China-Japan-South Korea deal, as well as the 10+1, 10+3, 10+6 frameworks - talks among Association of Southeast Asian Nations members and other Asia-Pacific countries.
Hu will meet with US President Barack Obama at the summit, as well as other national leaders.
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