This article explores the reasons why South Korea has been unwilling to join ‘the Quad’, suggesting that here the issue is not just about balancing diverging economic and security interests, but the reality that progressing South Korea’s key security priority – North Korea – requires a more accommodating approach to China.
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Reuters reports that China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, has visited South Korea, and met with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, and foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha.
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The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RECP) agreement: Fifteen Asia-Pacific economies have signed what could become the world’s largest free trade agreement, covering nearly a third of the global population and about 30% of its global gross domestic product.
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Even in what are almost certainly its last weeks, there is no sign yet that the Trump administration will lessen its efforts to make a lasting mark on relations between China and the US and its Asia-Pacific partners and allies.
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It is reported that the world’s largest trade pact involving 15 countries in the Asia Pacific – which account for 29% of global gross domestic product – is expected to be signed during a virtual leaders summit to be held on 15 November 2020.
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