| With the fast development of the global economy, the coexistence of regional trade agreements and multilateral trade system has become a marked character of international economic cooperation. Recent years, regional trade agreements increased rapidly and its coverage continually extended. It has been a comprehensive institutional arrangements which include the factors of trade, investment, service, labor force, environment, competition etc. not limit on trade liberalization. At present, Japan and South Korea has respectively signed regional trade agreements with Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia etc., and are still actively negotiating with some of other countries. On the contrary, China is lack of experience to participate in regional trade agreements despite of doing some work of planning and preparing, which not virtually sign regional trade agreements with other countries. So, to analyze the agreements Japan and South Korea participated in and find the common and separate traits would lead the way for China to participate in regional trade agreements henceforth.This thesis has three parts except of preface and conclusion.The first part is the analysis of background that Japan and South Korea joined regional trade agreements.Economic globalization and regional economic integration are two main trends of world development today. In the face of 21st century, all the countries and regions are active to adjust the economic policy and contest the dominant position in the world with the overall strength of regional group. Presently, the process of Asian economic integration mainly take the way that two or more countries sign regional trade agreement to realize free trade among them, and carry out some cooperation in the areas, like investment, finance. It is a kind of relatively primary state of economic integration. Having already respectively signed regional trade agreements with Singapore, Mexico and Malaysia etc. and negotiating with Indian and some other counties further, it can foresee that Japan and South would be more active to participate in and impel regional trade cooperation.To the view of law, regional trade agreement belongs to international treaty, which should abide to the international treaty law. For the counties which not WTO member, the regional trade agreements they signed base on international treaty law. Beside to international treaty law, WTO members should pay attention to the relation between regional trade and multilateral trade system (MTS). Most of countries in the world have been WTO members now, so the regional economic cooperation should be under WTO MTS. GATT provisions of 24 section,"License Item", Uruguay Round Agreement understanding on the interpretation of GATT provisions of 24 section and GATS provision of 5 section etc. show that, WTO has acknowledged the compatibility of regional trade agreement and Multilateral Trade System. But conditionally, these agreements would not threaten the countries out of the regions and probably promote the development of world economic integration. The historical practice also attests that the extensive development of regional economic integration would not violate and oppose to the trend of economic globalization and integration of world economy, but be the performance of integration of world economy on the regional level.The second part is the analysis of the regional trade agreements which Japan and South Korea signed with other counties.First of all, this part respectively analyses the text of regional trade agreement between Japan and Singapore, Japan and Mexico, South Korea and Singapore, focusing on the reasons to choose trade cooperation object, the economic cooperation content included in agreements, the solution of relative investment dispute and the design of dispute settlement to discuss provisions of the agreements. There are main reasons for Japan to choose Singapore as the first partner of economic cooperation: First, the obstacle on agriculture between Japan and Singapore is least; Second, economic development level of them is relatively close and the mutual trade in services is in the basic balance, to open service trade market would not have big blows; Third, the whole tariff level of them have already been low, so both have little obstacles to abolish tariff wall. And the cooperation between Japan and Mexico, that because Mexico is significant to Japan on economic strategy, Japan would benefit a lot. The dispute settlements in the agreements between Japan and Singapore, Mexico adopt consultation, mediation, arbitration in turn. The agreement between South Korea and Singapore has a little difference with Japan-Singapore and Japan-Mexico agreements that the arbitration of the arbitral tribunal divide into the initial report and the final report. Generally, the initial report would work out within 90 days since arbitral tribunal established and the two parties could submit the written comments to the report within 14 days since they received it. If they have no comment, the tribunal would make the final report within 30 days since the initial report released. This rule equivalently sets a review procedure for a arbitral award in dispute settlement, which could correct some obviously improper ruling, and at the same time, guarantee to work out arbitral award in limited time. It would be helpful to settle dispute fair and timely.Secondly, this part concludes some common characters of modern free trade agreements: The field of economic cooperation gets increasingly wide; cooperation becomes more practical; Sub-regional and inter-regional cooperation developed rapidly; and cooperation established in WTO Multilateral Trade System. On this basis, analyzing the agreements Japan, South Korea signed, and concludes the characters on choosing trade cooperation object, the economic cooperation content included in agreements, the style of regional economic integration and the dispute settlement.The third part is the reference to China of RTAs signed by Japan and South Korea. As a developing country member of the WTO, China should actively participate in regional economic and trade cooperation. At present, China has carried out a series of actions: to become a formal member of the Bangkok Agreement, to start the process of establishing a free trade area with ASEAN, to sign the CEPA with Hong Kong. At the same time, China has developed bilateral trade relations with India, Singapore these Southeast Asian countries, and tried to establish free trade areas with the South American Common Market including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.There are two points for China can be learned from the regional trade agreements signed by Japan and South Korea. Firstly, selecting the easiest countries or regions as the breakthrough points so as to getting achievements quickly. China can start the regional cooperation with some countries or regions which has fewer differences, so that it can realize liberalization firstly in some industries which have ripe conditions. And then, China can use the existing basic conditions for further cooperation and development potential in the proliferation of other industries gradually. Secondly, the choice of countries as trading partners for the purpose of maximizing the national interests. A regional trade agreement is an effective policy means between trade liberalization and trade protectionism. One country can achieve the purpose of protecting fledgling domestic industries through regional trade agreements. It is common that choosing the negotiating partners with multiple factors from easy to hard, including domestic pressures, complementary, economic interests, etc. When carrying out regional trade cooperation and bilateral free trade negotiations, China can make full use of the"transition period", according to the industry liberalization actual ability, adopt a strategy of"point to an area", considering the country's political, economic, security and other interests to pursue the liberalization progressively. |
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