Farmers in Amritsar, India, rally against the government's participation in talks to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Oct. 3, 2019. The pact would include 16 countries and create the world's largest free trade zone.
What We're Tracking Nov. 2-4: ASEAN Summit. Leaders from across Southeast Asia will gather in Bangkok for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which will include China, India, Japan and South Korea — among others. While the Philippines will be pushing for progress on a South China Sea code of conduct , leaders will seek to sidestep this thorny issue, which has flared recently given recent energy-related tensions between Vietnam and China. Nov. 2-4: RCEP Aims to Finalize Free Trade Zone. Officials from the proposed 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will meet during the ASEAN summit in Bangkok to try to finalize a pact on the world's largest free trade zone. All eyes will fall on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces pressure from domestic lobbies arguing that Chinese imports under RCEP will hurt jobs.
