East Asian trade talks grind on ahead, in spite of the frigid politics of the region

While the trilateral negotiation goes on, China and South Korea are also engaged in talks for a bilateral FTA, with the 10th round to be held later this month.

On Tuesday, China also started its 12th round of talks with the US on a Bilateral Investment Treaty. The four-day talks in Washington came just a little more than a month after the last round in Shanghai.

Meanwhile, Japan is engaged in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks with 11 countries to create the largest FTA in the Asia-Pacific region. But the talks with the US last month hit a stalemate over the reduction of tariffs on farm products. The US has refused Japan's request for excluding rice, wheat, beef, pork, dairy products and sweetening plants from tariff elimination.

Agriculture, along with steel and energy are regarded as sensitive sectors in FTA negotiations for Japan. For South Korea, they are the agriculture, energy, garments and textile industries, while China's sensitive industries include chemical, auto and service sectors.

Analysts believe that the trilateral FTA talks, which started in 2012, will not only help boost each other's trade, but also mutual trust, as the three countries are entangled in historical issues and maritime territorial disputes.

On Tuesday at the Senate hearing, Daniel Russel, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said Japan and South Korea, its two allies in the region, could not afford to let historical rivalries interfere with ensuring security in the region.

Both China and South Korea have been deeply angered by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's historical view, his bid to whitewash Japanese WWII atrocities, to revise Japan's pacifist constitution and increase its military capacity.

Besides, territorial disputes over the Diaoyu Islands in East China Sea between China and Japan and over the Dokdo islets, called Takeshima by Japan, in the Sea of Japan (or East Sea called by South Korea) between Japan and South Korea have from time to time disrupted smooth bilateral diplomatic relations.

However, trade relationships have not been affected as much as some expected. Despite the cold politics, everyone seems to realize that no one can afford to destroy increasingly intertwined economic and trade ties between the three East Asian giants.

Contact the writer at chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com.

(China Daily USA 03/05/2014 page2)