Leaders from 16 Asia-Pacific nations, including Japan, China and India, have said they will now seek a free trade agreement next year, missing a year-end deadline amid disagreements over tariffs and other politically sensitive issues.
The delay underscores the difficulty posed by the diversity of the negotiating members in creating what would be one of the world's largest free trade zones, amid the rise of protectionism and tit-for-tat exchanges of higher tariffs between the United States and China.
The leaders noted that "substantial progress" was made this year, citing that seven out of 18 chapters of the draft Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) were concluded. "We are determined to conclude a modern, comprehensive, high quality, and mutually beneficial RCEP in 2019," the leaders said in a joint statement issued Wednesday after the meeting, which was chaired by Singapore.