Premier's Malaysian trip to seek further economic integration in East Asia

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R, front) is welcomed upon his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Nov. 20, 2015. Li arrived here Friday for a series of leaders' meetings on East Asian cooperation and an official visit to Malaysia.[Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's ongoing visit to Malaysia, during which he will attend the East Asian leaders' meetings, comes at a time when China and other East Asian countries are beefing up efforts to deepen economic integration.

One of the highlights in Kuala Lumpur is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed collective free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and six countries with which ASEAN has individual FTAs: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

The RCEP deal is entering its final stage after three years of negotiations, and, if achieved, will be a catalyst for regional economic integration.