Abstract
(RCEP members are the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] countries, plus Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.) By some measures, this will be the largest free trade agreement ever, joining a second important regional accord, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) that went into effect in 2018. Will China use this leverage to advance short-term political interests — a kind of “China first” strategy — or build a rules-based system that works for other countries as well, perhaps as a model for global cooperation? The agreements will reduce the cost of doing business in East Asia, connecting strengths there in technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and natural resources.