CHINA hopes to finish talks on creating an Asian free trade bloc estimated to cover 28 percent of the world economy by the end of this year, the country’s trade minister said Saturday.

    Gao Hucheng said on the sidelines of China’s annual session of parliament that China would work hard to wrap up talks for the RCEP, or Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, before the end of this year.

    RCEP, which comprises of the 10-nation ASEAN club plus six others — China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand — is a Beijing-backed trade framework that has gained prominence as an alternative to U.S. trade plans.

    ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, groups Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei.

    The United States has been leading negotiations on a more comprehensive U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade plan that involves 12 countries, not including China.

    Gao said China was closely monitoring and assessing the impact of the TPP deal on global trade, and that the Chinese Government welcomed any trade framework that was open and transparent.

    (SD-Agencies)