JAKARTA/TOKYO/SYDNEY -- There's videoconferencing, and then there's trying to hammer out the world's biggest trade deal remotely.
"We've gotten used to negotiating online," said a government official from one of the 15 Asia-Pacific countries involved in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP. "Having said that, meeting online is different from meeting in person. Negotiations are much harder. The informal meetings on the sidelines were really important to get things done."
