A diversification of supply chains under the RCEP framework, however reshuffled, won't be enough to prevent the US from extortion if its market remains the single-largest destination for end products from RCEP member states. Given this fact, collaboration between China and ASEAN in deepening trade ties under the RCEP framework should not rule out domestic maneuvers. Cross-border trade must be embedded in local supply chains in order to ensure more local jobs are created, not destroyed.

　　China's recent initiatives to expand consumption and help boost people's spending power have gone beyond economic stimulus to make the Chinese market the ultimate destination for RCEP products. This will not only ease RCEP member states' worries over China potentially dominating the regional market but also enable China to get a grip on another choke point.

　　It is equally important for ASEAN, as the major driver of the RCEP and on track to become the world's fourth-largest economy, to take consumer market integration seriously, and harmonize product standards and the regulatory framework. A large and integrated consumer market is the bedrock of inclusive trade and economic self-determination. A US-less global trade order is a long-term game, and the RCEP is where it begins.

　　The author is a professor of economics at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia, and a visiting fellow to KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific.

　　The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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