SE Asia leaders to push for progress on China-backed trade pact

• The RCEP will be the world's largest trade pact and is seen as a way for Beijing to cement trade ties in Asia as Washington retreats from the region.
• Chinese premier Li Keqiang will attend the three-day summit in Bangkok -- officially kicking off Saturday amid a backdrop of heavy security.
• Modi will also be there, as he battles fears at home that key industries like metals, textiles and dairy could be hard-hit by RCEP.

BANGKOK: The Southeast Asian leaders will race to get a sprawling China-backed trade pact over the line at a regional meeting in Thailand this weekend, as Beijing's bruising trade war with Washington rumbles on.

If signed, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be the world's largest trade pact and is seen as a way for Beijing to cement trade ties in Asia as Washington retreats from the region.

The leaders are hoping for a breakthrough in RCEP talks at this weekend's meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after seven years of negotiations over the deal, which would comprise 30 percent of global commerce and half the world's population if signed.

"They will try to get enough together so they can sign something," even if it is not a final deal, said Juan Sebastian Cortes-Sanchez, a Singapore-based policy analyst at the Asian Trade Centre.

But members risk losing steam after dozens of rounds of negotiations and several missed deadlines to sign the pact.

Commerce ministers met Friday after an hours-long negotiation session to hammer out sticking points, as India digs in over concerns its market will be flooded with cheap made-in-China goods.

"There is one last step that every country has to find the solution to," said Thai commerce minister Jurin Laksanawisit at the start of the meeting.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang will attend the three-day summit in Bangkok -- officially kicking off Saturday amid a backdrop of heavy security -- where simmering tensions in the South China Sea will also top the agenda.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be there, as he battles fears at home that key industries like metals, textiles and dairy could be hard-hit by RCEP, which loops in 10 Southeast Asian economies along with Japan, India, New Zealand and Australia.

New Delhi's foreign ministry said Thursday "critical" issues remain to be ironed out, while Indian farmers planned nationwide protests on Monday to demand more input into the deal's terms.