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Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
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The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed in November. Photo: VNA via Xinhua

China pushing for ‘early implementation’ of RCEP trade deal in January

  • A total of 15 Asia-Pacific economies and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in November
  • China ratified RCEP at the start of March, and the deal must be confirmed by at least six Asean countries and three non-Asean countries before it can come into effect

China is encouraging the early implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and members of the Asia-Pacific trade pact aim for it to take effect from January 1, Wang Shouwen, China’s vice-commerce minister, said on Thursday.

China began gathering support for the pact in 2012, in what was seen as a bid to counter growing US influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Backing for RCEP gained momentum in 2017, after then US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the rival Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact.

In November, 15 Asia-Pacific economies, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), formed the world’s largest free trade bloc, covering nearly a third of the global population and about 30 per cent of its global gross domestic product.

China has taken the lead in ratifying the RCEP, underscoring the great importance and full support from the Chinese government for the early implementation of the deal
Wang Shouwen
“China has taken the lead in ratifying the RCEP, underscoring the great importance and full support from the Chinese government for the early implementation of the deal,” Wang said.

“[The agreement] will bring opportunities for China’s foreign investment and service exports, it will also help China to benchmark against international high-level economic and trade rules, accelerate institutional opening.”

RCEP must be ratified by at least six Asean countries and three non-Asean countries before it can come into effect.

All members of the RCEP are planning to ratify the agreement before the end of this year, with Ministry of Commerce official Yu Benlin adding that Thailand has also ratified the agreement.

The ministry and other related authorities have arranged a total of 701 binding obligations involving China under RCEP, Yu said, adding that the country has completed preparations for the implementation of 613 items, accounting for 87 per cent of all obligations.

Preparations for the remaining items are expected to be completed before RCEP’s implementation, and China will be able to entirely fulfil its obligations when the agreement becomes effective, added Yu.

The obligations include tariff concessions, simplification of customs procedures, technical preparations for rules of origin, product standards, service trade liberalisation measures, investment negative list commitments, commitment to comprehensive protection of intellectual property rights, administrative measures and procedural compliance.

“For China, joining the RCEP and making RCEP take effect as soon as possible will further open the Chinese economy to the outside world and enable Chinese companies to be more adapted to broader market competition. These are all good for China to join a higher level of free trade agreements,” Wang added.

“The entry into force of RCEP is very beneficial to the development of the regional industrial chain, and it is conducive to the region’s response to possible external shocks to the industrial chain.”

03:29

RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries sign world’s largest free-trade deal

RCEP: 15 Asia-Pacific countries sign world’s largest free-trade deal

Last week, Japan said the RCEP trade deal could boost its economy by 2.7 per cent when its benefits fully appear.

The trade deal would lift Japan’s gross domestic product, which would be worth around 15 trillion yen (US$138 billion) based on the nation’s economy in fiscal 2019. It would have the value of creating an additional 570,000 jobs, according to the estimate.

In 2017, the government estimated that a free trade deal with the European Union would boost Japan’s gross domestic product by 1 per cent and the 11-nation TPP would lift it by around 1.5 per cent.

He Yaqiong, a senior official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that China will leverage RCEP to actively participate in formulating international standards.

The cost advantages of Southeast Asian countries and China’s advantage of having a complete manufacturing industry chain will complement each other
He Yaqiong

“We encourage domestic industry associations, enterprises and institutions to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with counterparts in member countries, and jointly develop international standards,” he said on Thursday.

He said that China will plan the interconnection of industrial chains between China and Asean countries, including building closer cooperation in the low-end industrial chains through constructing overseas industrial estates and small enterprise cooperation zones.

“The cost advantages of Southeast Asian countries and China’s advantage of having a complete manufacturing industry chain will complement each other. The two sides have a very large room for cooperation in equipment manufacturing, textiles, clothing and light industry sectors,” he added.

Additional reporting by Orange Wang

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