News Analysis China stands to be the big winner of RCEP, and it would have won even more if the United States had joined the multilateral trade deal. “With the RCEP going ahead officially, China will now be able to drive trade on its terms,” according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), claiming that the United States had missed out on an opportunity by not joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free-trade pact signed by 15 countries in 2020. The U.S. refusal seems to be the correct response, given that Washington does not want Beijing dictating the terms of trade. The RCEP will go into force on Jan. 1, 2022, after it met the minimum number of ratifications last week. It was signed by the Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Burma (also known as Myanmar), New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South …