Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Full Focus
Photos of the week
Our top photos from the past week. See more
Images of April
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Mexico volcano spews huge ash cloud, frightens villagers
12 May 2012
Thousands march against economic gloom in Spain, UK
12 May 2012
New York police frisk more people despite criticism
12 May 2012
Weary warriors favor Obama
3:01am EDT
California budget hole deepens to $16 billion: governor
12 May 2012
Discussed
152
Romney apologizes for bullying incident at school
147
Obesity fight must shift from personal blame: U.S. panel
125
Florida nabs white supremacists planning ”race war”
Watched
Surfer rides 78-foot wave to world record
Fri, May 11 2012
A look at the U.K.’s most beautiful face
Thu, May 10 2012
Doomed Sukhoi plane's final takeoff
Thu, May 10 2012
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Photos of the week
Our top photos from the past week. Slideshow
Mother's Day in prison
An annual Mother's Day event, Get On The Bus, brings children to visit their mothers in prison. Slideshow
Afghan girls
An indepth look at the lives of girls in Afghanistan in times of uncertainty. Slideshow
East Asian powers agree on trade pact talks
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Clinton says U.S. willing to work with North Korea if it reforms
Fri, May 4 2012
Japan switches off last nuclear power plant; will it cope?
Fri, May 4 2012
Clinton urges China to help on Iran, North Korea
Thu, May 3 2012
East Asia boosts safety net as euro zone crisis lingers
Thu, May 3 2012
China-U.S. deal over dissident sours, Chen fears for life
Wed, May 2 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Essential reading: China forces auditors to restructure; veto threat of Republican defense cuts
On the rocky road to change in China
Related Topics
World »
China »
Japan »
South Korea »
1 of 5. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (back) looks on as Japan's Trade Minister Yukio Edano (R) attends a signing ceremony of the fifth trilateral summit among China, South Korea and Japan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 13, 2012. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged northeast Asian powers to cooperate more in the face of global economic headwinds, as China, Japan and South Korea agreed at a summit on Sunday to soon launch negotiations on a three-way free trade pact.
Credit: Reuters/Petar Kujundzic
By Chris Buckley and Sui-Lee Wee
BEIJING |
Sun May 13, 2012 4:04am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - China, Japan and South Korea agreed at a summit on Sunday to launch negotiations for a three-way free trade pact they said could help fend off global economic chills, but the talks are expected to be long and difficult because of decades of rivalry.
The three nations are major traders, and together accounted for 19.6 percent of global gross domestic product and 18.5 percent of exports in 2010, according to a feasibility study issued by their governments last year on the trade pact.
"Northeast Asia is the most economically vibrant region in the world," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told reporters after talks in Beijing with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
"The establishment of an FTA will unleash the economic vitality of our region and give a strong boost to economic integration in east Asia."
China is the biggest trade partner of Japan and South Korea. A free trade treaty could lift China's GDP by up to 2.9 percent, Japan's by 0.5 percent, and South Korea's by 3.1 percent, the official Xinhua news said in a commentary, without citing the basis for its estimates.
But agreeing on a fully-fledged pact, which has been on the table for a decade, will not be easy.
The three northeast Asian neighbors are divided by political distrust, trade barriers, and diverging investment policies, as well as regionwide worries about China's expanding economic and military power.
The proposed treaty must also vie for attention with the United States' push for a broader Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade liberalization initiative that has drawn in nine countries, with Japan also expressing interest. China and South Korea are not part of those negotiations yet.
At the summit in Beijing, the three leaders also agreed a three-way investment treaty - a stepping stone to the bigger and much more contentious goal of a free trade deal - said Xinhua.
China's Ministry of Commerce said on its website that the (www.mofcom.gov.cn) investment agreement will help smoothe tax, dispute resolution and other issues among the three nations.
"Japan, South Korea and China play an important role in the global economic recovery," said South Korea's President Lee. "When the economy is in crisis, it's more pressing to set up a free trade zone," he told a business meeting that took place parallel to the leaders' summit.
Intra-regional trade and investment levels between China, Japan and South Korea were "much lower" than levels in the European Union or across the North American Free Trade Agreement area.
LONG JOURNEY AHEAD
Yet even host China acknowledged the negotiations on a three-way trade agreement to begin are likely to be difficult.
"The conclusion of the feasibility study in 2011 and the nearly finalization of the three-way investment treaty has paved the way for launching the FTA talks, but that only marks one step forward along the long negotiation journey," Xinhua said.
"More importantly, political trust is badly needed in this sensitive region, not only in political affairs but also in economic ties."
Tokyo and Beijing have long been in dispute over territorial claims in the East China Sea, where both sides stake claims to potentially valuable gas beds.
Beijing also faces insistent demands from Tokyo and Seoul to put more pressure on North Korea, whose nuclear weapons ambitions and rocket tests have alarmed the region.
The plan for a three-way northeast Asian free trade pact jostles alongside other proposals to enhance regional economic flows, especially the Obama administration's promotion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Policy-makers in Beijing worry that U.S. influence could erode Chinese sway across the region.
Japan's Prime Minister Noda said he saw no conflict between the two trade negotiation proposals.
"We will promote the TPP and the trilateral FTA in parallel," Noda told reporters. "These efforts can be mutually reinforcing to each other."
(Additional reporting Terril Yue Jones and Sui-Lee Wee in Beijing and Mari Saito in Tokyo; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
World
China
Japan
South Korea
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.