Ministers from 16 Asia-Pacific countries, including Japan, China and India, began talks Monday in Singapore, in a race to agree on key parts of a free trade deal before the end of the year.

At stake is the creation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade pact, which would be the world's largest free trade area, covering around a third of the global economy amid intensifying trade friction between the United States and China.

The RCEP trade ministers agreed this summer to complete "a package of deliverables" by year-end. But gaps remain over the package that includes goods, services, investment and intellectual property rights.