On December 13–14, St. Petersburg hosts the 13th Asian Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “Russia and Asia in the Emerging International Order”. The participants of the third session discussed the potential of free trade agreements in Asia and Russia’s participation.
The system of economic interaction in Asia is largely built on different types of preferential and non-preferential trade agreements. So far Russia has been inactive in this field, although it participates in most regional economic forums –APEC, EAC, and others. Questions for the future are following: What should be Russia’s strategy regarding the participation in trade agreements and regimes in Asia? What are the main regional trends in terms of trade liberalization? Are new challenges to economic openness emerging now?