Travel news forum

Tilapia

While this 'free trade' route will produce some economic advantages, who will be the bigger winners? VN or Thailand?

- - -

The agreement to lift border controls ought be contrasted with China. there, some provincial borders are still blocked to through traffic and goods need to be 'repacked' on trucks registered in the incoming province. And, China is supposed to be...

Cheers

Tilapia

I'm reading you as saying it's not about moving goods FROM China, rather, the reverse.

On reflection, I suppose that's true.

- - -

On a different tack, there appears to be a quite radical change now occurring in China regarding their position re; gloabl politics.

leading up to the Olympics, China was (relatively) benign in the way they were dealing with other nations.

Over the very recent months, China appears quite aggressive in the way it is dealing with matters it concerns itself with.

This week, and in response to the forthcoming appearance of a Uighur activist here in Australia, China has decided to come out strongly (look here.

News today suggests that China has even used internet highjacking to address its concerns on this matter (go here).

This is not an isolated example, the recent jailing of Hu (look here) has now been associated more with Hu's knowledge of the iron ore price negotiations (and how China was attempting to advantage itself) than any 'espionage'.

I could go on. But, as Al-Jazeera points out (here), economic relations between China and other nations have changed in recent months.

How this 'strong arm' tactic will affect SE Asian nations only time will tell. But, I suspect that China will be the winner.

Cheers