In November last year, 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, signed a trade agreement called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Since the agreement, there have been discussions on how it will increase trade flows and boost the region's economic growth. This free trade will create a winning and losing team in the region, says author William Bratton.

That's what Nikki Asia wrote in an opinionated article.

The benefits of using other participants as a result of the RCEP agreement will largely be enjoyed by China, he wrote. Through this process, China's status as the core of the Asian economy will be further enhanced and the country will enjoy long-term benefits.

Comparing China to a dragon, he said, economically speaking, the rest of Asia is sitting down to eat with a dragon, which will start consuming its future. Policymakers in the region need to think quickly about how to deal with this.

Sunbd/NJ