FTTAP is being pushed by President Xi at APEC this year. The FTTAP proposal is very similar to the one that the United States proposed before the APEC summit (TPP), with both urging free trade among Asia-Pacific nations. The biggest difference is that in TPP, China is not included in the 12-nation partnership.

My opinion on the APEC summit is that the U.S is trying to expand its backyard to Asia and hopefully limit the speed of China’s rise by establishing a smaller version of the WTO in Asia-Pacific. President Xi’s FTTAP plan is definitely a counter-strike to the U.S proposal of TPP.

I also found Japan’s change of attitude and diplomacy right before the APEC interesting. These changes are included in “The Four Point Consensus in Principle,” stating that the prime minister of Japan is now “open” to discuss the disagreements between the two nations. Japan’s compromise is largely due to its recent drop of GDP (7.1%), the lowest in five years, as well as Japanese enterprises operating in China wanting Japan to improve trade and increase investment in projects in China.

I look forward to seeing if Japan will stand with China this time after the APEC.