Abstract:
This report consists of four parts. The first part introduces the initiation and progress of major FTA negotiations in today's world, focusing on the US "dual ocean strategy", i.e. the TPP and the TTIP; the RCEP, a new regional economic cooperation mechanism centering on ASEAN; and the latest development of China-Japan-South Korea FTA negotiations. The second part depicts the overall situation of China's FTA development, and points out the reality that China lags behind the EU, the US and some ASEAN countries in constructing FTAs with foreign nations. The third part mainly expounds various difficulties and challenges - both internal and external - China is facing in FTA development. The fourth part puts forward some lines of strategic thinking regarding China's future FTA development based on the analysis of the first three parts: maintain the multilateral framework of the WTO by offering strong support to the Doha Round negotiations; base its FTA strategy on the neighborhood, and prioritize the building of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) with East Asia regional cooperation as its basis; strengthen the construction of FTAs with developing countries and forge a model of "South-South FTA", and explore the possibility of building bilateral FTAs with some regions and countries.
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