The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has entered into full force for 15 member countries, marking a new stage of full implementation of the world's most populous, largest economic and trade zone and the most potential for development. RCEP accelerates the process of regional economic integration, promotes economic and trade cooperation and investment growth, and adds a steady stream of impetus to the sustained recovery and development of the regional economy.
Gather the power to walk in the same direction
Establish a benchmark for open cooperation
On June 6, RCEP officially entered into force for the Philippines, marking the full entry into force of RCEP for 2 member countries. Ana Robenho, senior economic adviser of the ASEAN Secretariat, said that RCEP provides a good opportunity for member countries to open and expand their markets, and will effectively promote economic and trade cooperation among member countries.
In 2012, RCEP was officially launched by ASEAN. After 31 rounds of "marathon" negotiations, overcoming huge differences in politics, economy, development level, history and culture, the agreement was signed by the 2020 ASEAN countries on November 11, 15 with China, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, and officially entered into force on January 10, 2022. RCEP took the lead in officially entering into force for six ASEAN member countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and four non-ASEAN member countries including China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, and has since expanded to other members such as South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The person in charge of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce of China said that the full entry into force of RCEP fully reflects the 15 parties' support for an open, free, fair, inclusive and rules-based multilateral trading system with practical actions, and are jointly committed to continuously promoting comprehensive, mutually beneficial and high-level economic partnership. The commitment of the 15 parties to open up the markets for goods, services and investment, superimposed on high-level rules in various fields, greatly promotes the free flow of production factors such as raw materials, products, technologies, talents, capital, information and data in the region, promotes the gradual formation of a more prosperous regional integration market, and promotes the opening and cooperation of member countries on a larger scale, higher level and deeper level.
Joseph Matthews, senior professor at Beltai International University in Cambodia, said that RCEP supports an open, free, fair, inclusive and rules-based multilateral trading system, which helps promote the participation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in regional value chains and production centers. Peter Drysdale, director of the East Asian Economic Research Institute at the Australian National University, believes that RCEP plays an important role in promoting trade openness and inclusiveness and promoting economic and technological cooperation at a time when some major industrial countries are reducing their support for trade openness and the multilateral trading system.
Economic and trade rules form a joint force
Stimulate the vitality of regional cooperation
Fresh durian can be shipped from Laem Chabang Port in Thailand to Nansha Port in Guangzhou in just 4 days, and it can be placed on the shelves of the largest fruit wholesale market in South China in as little as 1.5 hours after unloading. In the first five months of this year, more than 5,5700 TEUs of Thai durians have entered the field of view of Chinese consumers through Nansha Port. It is reported that in order to meet the requirements of "6-hour release" of RCEP fresh and perishable products, Nansha Customs has promoted measures such as advance declaration, shipside pickup, and intelligent map review in Nansha Port, which has greatly improved the customs clearance efficiency of fresh goods. In addition, the Nansha cold chain logistics distribution center with a total storage capacity of 22,7 tons also provides a guarantee for the "continuous cooling of the whole chain" of fresh goods from inspection to storage.
In the large excavator assembly workshop of Guangxi Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd., workers are stepping up assembly operations. The company imports diesel engines, hydraulic components and other related parts and components with a total of about 2 million yuan per year. After RCEP came into effect, the average import tariff rate of the enterprise was reduced from 5.4% to 4.8%, which can directly save about 120.2022 million yuan in import tariff costs every year. In addition, according to the corresponding tariff preferential policies of the RCEP origin accumulation rules, the company's products can be exported to RCEP member countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia with zero tariff. In 4500, Guangxi LiuGong will sell about 16,60 complete machines to RCEP member countries, with sales revenue of about <>.<> billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of more than <>%.
Only by openness can we develop, and only by cooperation can we achieve win-win results. Vivid examples confirm the effectiveness of RCEP in stimulating the vitality of regional cooperation, and bring tangible growth and benefits to member countries and enterprises. Olamon, Director General of the Trade Negotiation Department of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, said that by implementing tariff reductions, simplifying customs procedures, rules of origin accumulation and providing more transparent and fair trade rules, RCEP has effectively improved the level of trade liberalization and investment facilitation of member countries, strengthened the resilience of supply chains, and effectively promoted economic and trade cooperation and regional economic integration among member countries.
Build a platform for opening up to the outside world
Share valuable market opportunities
Coffee from Indonesia, nutritious noodles from Malaysia, coconut water from the Philippines and wine from Australia... In June this year, at the 6 RCEP Economic and Trade Cooperation High-level Forum Investment and Trade Fair, a variety of characteristic products of member countries were "moved" to the scene, with the exhibition boards and various publicity brochures behind it, to build a convenient platform for negotiation and cooperation and "one-click ordering". In August, the 2023th China-South Asia Expo was held in Kunming, Yunnan, achieving full coverage of RCEP member countries; In the same month, the third RCEP Regional (Shandong) Import Commodities Expo was held, attracting more than 8 enterprises to explore new opportunities for trade exchanges.
According to data from China's Ministry of Commerce, in 2022, the total import and export volume of China and other RCEP member countries will be nearly 13 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. China's actual utilization of investment in other RCEP members was about 235.23 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1.590%. In the first half of this year, 4844 approved Chinese exporters independently issued 43,4 RCEP declarations of origin, with a value of 2739.25 billion yuan; China attracted 6,<> new foreign-funded enterprises in RCEP member countries, an increase of <>.<>% year-on-year. As an important participant in regional economic cooperation, China's high-quality implementation of RCEP and high-level opening up have injected new impetus into the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world, and have become the consensus of people from all walks of life in RCEP member countries.
Aditya Mattu, Chief Economist of the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific Region, said that China insists on expanding opening up and opening its markets under the RCEP framework, so that all parties can jointly establish meaningful trade relations and make positive contributions to promoting international trade and global economic growth. Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Economic Coordination, Eddy Prio Pampdi, said that as the world's second-largest economy with a population of more than 14.<> billion, China provides other RCEP members with access to the huge consumer market. As an important global manufacturing and high-tech product production base, China will continue to play a vital role in the RCEP framework. (People's Daily)