Staying out of RCEP also means staying out of the scale of a large trade bloc. We were right to be worried about imports, but equally, now we shd be worried about our exports slowing as others build scale within the bloc. Only by strengthening ourselves we can beat this paradox.
It has been suggested that doing bilateral deals with individual nations is the alternative. This could prove wishful. Most trade blocs eventually prohibit their members from doing side deals. The only practical course is to prepare to take on the emerging challenge on its terms.
No nation can project an external strength if it does not have it internally. This is the real deficit we have to overcome. A rent-seeking economy within our borders is leaving us with nothing to offer to the world. Crack the former, and the latter will change automatically.
This internal strength can only be built through decentralisation of power and public expenditure. We have a lot of cats, as Deng would say, but they need to start catching mice. We need to let a lot more of them try, and then back the methods that work.
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