ASEAN nations and their key partners on Saturday reaffirmed their resolve to substantially conclude a region-wide trade pact by the end of the year, seeing its completion as an “important milestone” amid uncertainties in global trade, The Straits Times reports. Previously, Malaysia’s deputy secretary general for International Trade and Industry Ministry, Norazman Ayob, said the ongoing trade tension between China and the United States has provided the impetus for an early conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). With the RCEP standing to create the largest trading bloc in the world, with China itself a member, it sets the stage for a long-term failure in Washington’s strategy against Beijing, writes Tom Fowdy for CGTN.