Ministers vow to conclude talks on Asia-Pacific trade pact in 2019

Trade ministers from China and 15 other nations belonging to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership group have agreed to resolve issues with the aim of reaching a comprehensive agreement by the end of this year.

The ministers made the commitment in a brief statement at the end of their ministerial meeting in the resort town of Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia on Saturday.

In the statement, the ministers acknowledged the good progress already made on both market access and text-based negotiations (the guiding principles and objectives) but recognized more work still needed to be done to "advance both aspects of the negotiations".