Phil > Although it seems a bit far fetched to me, we did discuss such possibilities here
Maybe the confrontational aspect is far fetched but I don't think the trade arrangements are.
And here's something more to put into the pot
cnsnews.com
>>China has signed a landmark agreement with 10 South-East Asian countries aimed at forming the world's largest free-trade zone in a region that has traditionally had strong trading and security ties to the U.S.
The deal signed at the annual Association of South East Nations (Asean) summit in Laos commits most of the countries to lower tariffs on goods by 2010, with an extension to 2015 for four poorer Asean members - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma.
Although officials expressed optimism about the plan, "sensitive goods" including steel, sugar and automobiles, are being excluded because some of the governments have objections to those being covered. Services are also not covered at this point.
The combined economies of Asean - whose other six members are Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei and Thailand - are worth around $1 trillion, while China's fast-expanding economy is worth some $1.4 trillion.
The envisaged market will cover a region that is home to almost two billion people.
The Asean meeting also agreed to set up a new forum called the East Asian Summit (EAS), bringing together the 10 Asean countries, China, Japan and South Korea.<<
There's no doubt that the sage advice of the future is to "go East, young man". |
