China News Service, Nanning, December 22 (Huang Lingyan) Gao Yan, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said on the 22nd that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the construction of free trade zones and has signed 19 free trade agreements with 26 countries and regions, which has greatly improved Improved the level of trade and investment facilitation with related countries and regions.
China has applied to join the "Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement" (CPTPP), and is actively building a global high-standard free trade zone network.
The International Cooperation Forum on Promotion and Implementation of China's Free Trade Agreement was held in Nanning, Guangxi on the same day.
This forum was hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Representatives of relevant Chinese and foreign government departments, international organizations, trade and investment promotion agencies, and business associations, foreign envoys in China, experts, scholars, and business representatives participated in the forum online and offline.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization. The much-watched "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) will also come into effect on January 1 next year.
The purpose of this forum is to play the positive role of the free trade agreement in responding to the economic downside risks brought by the spread of the international epidemic, alleviating trade frictions, to build consensus on open cooperation, and to promote regional economic integration and world economic recovery.
Gao Yan said in her video speech that all parties should practice true multilateralism, resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and create open, transparent, fair, inclusive and non-discriminatory trade and investment Environment, make full use of multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as G20, APEC, and BRICS, actively participate in the reshaping of the international division of labor, negotiate and join high-level free trade agreements, accelerate the process of regional economic interconnection and integration, and improve the global industrial chain and supply chain , Value chain, and promote the construction of an open world economy.
Chen Dehai, secretary-general of the China-ASEAN Center, issued a video speech stating that the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is the first free trade area China negotiated with foreign countries and the largest free trade area among developing countries.
The RCEP initiated by ASEAN will stimulate more endogenous motivations of the countries in the region and promote the long-term prosperity and sustainable development of the region.
Under the new situation, the two sides should effectively implement the remaining content of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the "Future Work Plan" of the "Upgrading Protocol", give full play to the role of RCEP, actively build a China-ASEAN dialogue and exchange platform, and promote the governments, enterprises and society of both sides All walks of life participate in deeper pragmatic cooperation.
In order to promote the implementation of free trade agreements and increase the utilization rate of free trade agreements by enterprises, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China-ASEAN Center, Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Corporation, and the National Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia jointly issued the "China Free Trade Agreement" on the same day. Promote the implementation of the Nanning Initiative for International Cooperation.
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