The time is ripe for serious movement forward on economic integration across the Asia-Pacific region. China, as the leader of the 2014 APEC meetings, has promoted a re-invigoration of the Bogor Goals set forth for APEC in 1995. China tested the waters for the launch of the Free Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific, or FTAAP, which would be completed by 2025. This goal has apparently been withheld in deference to TPP under pressure from the U.S. Nevertheless, the signs are hopeful. The new Chinese government under President Xi Jinping has recently completed the 4th Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which focused on the rule of law in China. This comes on top of stronger recognition of market forces' power to allocate resources in China. The Republican Party's control of the U.S. Congress also bodes well for TPA and more trade leadership from the U.S.

Just before heading to Beijing for the APEC meetings, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke about the Sino-U.S. relationship at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Kerry said, "The U.S.-China relationship is the most consequential in the world today, period, and it will do much to determine the shape of the 21st century." Both China and the U.S. recognize that their mutual interests would be served by a cooperative bilateral relationship, though at the same time, both sides acknowledge that managing the differences of the world's two largest economies will pose many challenges.

APEC was designed as a forum for trade talks, and under Chinese leadership, this year is a perfect opportunity for boldness. The constraints created by the U.S. election have been removed. China has set forth a bold vision for the future. In Beijing, the APEC leadership can support TPP, and the leaders of the TPP nations can support the larger FTAAP plan launched by China. How to properly set up the Asia-Pacific Partnership will inevitably become a critical talking point for the U.S. and China. Trade talks between the U.S. and China will not only matter to the formation of a constructive bilateral partnership, but will also matter to the development of a comprehensive trade and investment partnership in the Asia-Pacific, and it will matter even more to the process of upgrading the world's multilateral trading system.

Robert Rogowsky is the former Chief Economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Zhang Lijuan is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/zhanglijuan.htm

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