Investing.com - Left outside the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact struck last week, China and India approach this week's talks for a huge Asia-wide equivalent with fresh urgency, lest competitor nations steal a march on export access.
Beijing is a key driver of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a proposed 16-nation free-trade area that would be the world's biggest such bloc, encompassing 3.4 billion people.
While China's rivalries with India and Japan will complicate progress, it has incentive to get things moving.
The TPP deal, reached on October 5 after marathon talks between the u.s. and 11 Pacific Rim nations, aims to liberalize commerce in 40% of the world's economy.