{"id":62842,"date":"2025-12-29T18:18:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=62842"},"modified":"2025-12-30T11:42:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T06:12:34","slug":"rcep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-12-2025\/rcep","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Gain From RCEP Without Risking China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/International Relation; Global Grouping<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has since managed to strategically position itself to reap many of the benefits of <strong>Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership<\/strong><strong> (RCEP)<\/strong> without formally joining the bloc or compromising its economic sovereignty or exposing itself to the vulnerabilities associated with Chinese market dominance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>RCEP and India\u2019s 2019 Exit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>RCEP<\/strong> includes the <strong>10 ASEAN nations<\/strong><em>(Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)<\/em> plus <strong>Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It covers<strong> nearly 30% of global GDP<\/strong> and population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India, in <strong>November 2019<\/strong>, announced that it would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/19-01-2024\/understanding-indias-withdrawal-from-rcep\"><strong>not join RCEP \u2018in its present form\u2019<\/strong><\/a><strong>,<\/strong> citing the agreement\u2019s <strong>failure to address India\u2019s core concerns, like:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Unrestricted Chinese access<\/strong> to its markets;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lack of safeguards for domestic industries like agriculture and manufacturing;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inadequate protection for services and data localization;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Alternative Strategy To RCEP Members<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India pursued a <strong>bilateral and minilateral trade strategy<\/strong> to secure access to key markets while avoiding overexposure to Chinese imports, rather than joining RCEP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bilateral FTAs with RCEP Members:<\/strong> India has signed or is negotiating Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with <strong>nearly all RCEP members except China.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India now has <strong>trade agreements with 14 of the 15 RCEP countries, <\/strong>effectively integrating itself into the RCEP trade network, minus China.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India ensures market access while maintaining <strong>tariff sovereignty<\/strong>, by securing FTAs with <strong>14 of the 15 RCEP members.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background has-fixed-layout\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>India\u2019s FTA Network with RCEP Members<\/strong><br><br>&#8211; <strong>ASEAN\u2013India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA):<\/strong> <em>In effect since January 2010.<\/em><br>India is currently <strong>re-negotiating the ASEAN Deal (AITIGA)<\/strong> to correct the <strong>trade deficit<\/strong> that has grown since its inception.<br>&#8211; <strong>India\u2013South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA):<\/strong> <em>January 2010<\/em><br>&#8211;<strong>India\u2013Japan CEPA<\/strong>: <em>August 2011<\/em><br>&#8211; <strong>India\u2013Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA):<\/strong> <em>December 2022<\/em><br>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/23-12-2025\/india-new-zealand-fta\"><strong>India\u2013New Zealand FTA<\/strong>: <\/a><em>Negotiations concluded December 2025.<\/em><br>The <strong>newer agreements with Australia and New Zealand<\/strong> complete the <strong>RCEP-minus-China framework<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strategic Decoupling from China<\/strong>: India avoids automatic tariff reductions on Chinese goods, which could have flooded Indian markets and hurt domestic industries by staying out of RCEP.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It aligns with <strong>India\u2019s broader China+1 strategy<\/strong>, aimed at <strong>reducing economic dependence on China<\/strong> amid geopolitical tensions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focus on Trusted Supply Chains:<\/strong> India has joined initiatives like the <strong>Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) with Japan and Australia<\/strong> to diversify trade and reduce reliance on China.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These efforts complement <strong>India\u2019s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, <\/strong>which aim to boost domestic manufacturing and exports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited Engagement with China via APTA: <\/strong>India and China remain part of the <strong>Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)<\/strong>, a <strong>preferential trade pact<\/strong> offering limited tariff concessions on select goods.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>APTA is far less extensive than a full FTA and helps India maintain <strong>policy flexibility<\/strong> while managing its trade exposure to China.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Approach: A Calculated Trade-Off&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s approach reflects a calibrated trade policy that balances openness with strategic caution.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It forgoes the formal benefits of RCEP membership like dispute resolution mechanisms and deeper integration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It gains market access through bilateral deals, policy autonomy to protect sensitive sectors, geopolitical leverage by avoiding entanglement with China-dominated trade rules.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s current trade architecture delivers <strong>strategic balance<\/strong>, broad regional access <strong>without overexposure to China.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By staying out of RCEP, India has <strong>retained its economic autonomy<\/strong>, and through carefully negotiated bilateral agreements, it has effectively <strong>replicated RCEP\u2019s benefits<\/strong> on its own terms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/business\/Industry\/how-india-secured-rceps-advantages-without-exposing-itself-to-the-china-risk\/article70442861.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India has since managed to strategically position itself to reap many of the benefits of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) without formally joining the bloc or compromising its economic sovereignty or exposing itself to the vulnerabilities associated with Chinese market dominance.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0RCEP and India\u2019s 2019 Exit<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The RCEP includes the 10 ASEAN nations(Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) plus Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It covers nearly 30% of global GDP and population.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-12-2025\/rcep\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62842"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62872,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62842\/revisions\/62872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}