Until the late 1990s China, Japan, and South Korea (hereafter Korea), the three major economies in East Asia, stood out as the only major economies without regional trade arrangements (RTAs) in the world. In very recent years, however, the three countries have signed bilateral/plurilateral trade arrangements with many countries or groups of countries. China triggered the recent East Asian domino effect when Chinese leader Zhu Ronji suggested a free trade agreement (FTA) between China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the China-ASEAN Summit in November 2000 (Baldwin, 2006a). This surprising suggestion led to the ASEAN-China FTA in November 2004. China also concluded an FTA with Chile in November 2005 and another with Pakistan in November 2006. It is now negotiating FTAs with countries such as New Zealand, Australia, India, Singapore, South Africa, and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

(MARKHUB publication)