ASEAN to study new ties with six partners
ASEAN says it will study how to implement a proposed economic partnership with its six external partners that might lead to the foundation of world’s largest economic bloc. ... The proposed bloc, dubbed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) or “ASEAN+6” , would integrate ASEAN’s 10 member nations and six partners in the Asia-Pacific region into a single market comprising more than 3 billion people and with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$17.23 trillion. The six partners that may join the bloc — Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand — have all signed separate free trade agreements (FTAs) with ASEAN. ...
