October 12, 2015

"When US Commodore Matthew Perry steamed into Japan's Edo (now Tokyo) Bay with his "black ships of evil mien" on July 8, 1853, he forced open Japan, which the Tokugawa shoguns had run for 250 years as a reclusive feudal state.

The country is opening up again 162 years later, this time to another 11 countries, with an agreement reached on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade initiative.

For some of the countries, though, the TPP is more than just a trade deal. The United States and Japan have made no secret of its geopolitical implications for competing with, if not confronting, China.

Shortly after the broad agreement on the TPP was reached, the White House declared that the US does not want competitors, such as China, who don't share its values, to write the rules of the global economy.

The US wants to ensure that Washington, not Beijing, has the leadership in the development of trade rules governing the Asia-Pacific region."

Read more:

http://africa.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2015-10/12/content_22160447.htm

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