Although the establishment of the trilateral free trade area has obvious economic benefits, there are a lot of inherent difficulties and obstacles in the negotiations and construction between China, Japan and South Korea.
On the one hand, the three countries have a big economic difference and imbalanced industrial division, which increased the barriers and frictions in trade, investment and other fields. In addition, the agricultural factor is the top problem during the trilateral talks.
On the other hand, the issues of territorial disputes, the attitude toward historical problems and Japan’s “constitutional amendment” will also constrain the course of trilateral free trade area negotiations and construction.
Despite difficulties and obstacles, we should recognize that it is a strategic measure to build the trilateral free trade area in the future. Therefore, we should promote the negotiations and establishment of the free trade area with a more positive attitude and defuse the political differences and regional risk in Northeast Asia with economic cooperation.
The author is the vice president and associate researcher of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Read the Chinese version: 李光辉、梁明:中日韩自贸区,分歧再大也要推进, source: Global Times
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