Our reporter Feng Qiyu

　　The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) came into effect on January 1, 2022. With the ringing of the New Year’s bell, customs across the country are busy. An RCEP certificate of origin...The free trade zone with the largest population, the largest economic and trade scale, and the most potential for development in the world officially set sail.

　　In an interview with a reporter from the Economic Daily, many experts believe that the implementation of RCEP will help reduce the institutional transaction costs of trade and investment in East Asia, inject new development momentum into the region and the world economy, and will become an important platform for my country to build a new development pattern. , To further promote my country's institutional opening in the fields of rules, regulations, management, and standards.

　　The bridge link that connects the double loop

　　"The implementation of RCEP will become a bridge and link connecting the domestic and international dual cycles, strengthen my country's ability to allocate resources in the domestic and international markets, and serve to build a new development pattern." Yang Zhengwei, deputy director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that RCEP will promote the region The growth of trade and investment, the optimization of regional division of labor, and the strengthening of the regional industrial chain supply chain are of great significance to my country's stable foreign trade and foreign investment.

　　It is understood that in terms of market opening, the immediate zero-tariff ratios between my country and ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand all exceed 65%.

The immediate zero tariff rate between my country and South Korea is 39% and 50%.

my country and Japan have newly established a free trade relationship, and the mutual immediate zero tariff ratio has reached 25% and 57% respectively.

A large number of immediate zero-tariff products will bring opportunities for trade development.

On this basis, RCEP members will basically realize that 90% of their products enjoy zero tariffs in about 10 years.

　　Yuan Bo, deputy director of the Asian Institute of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, believes that the effective implementation of RCEP will promote the formation of a prosperous regional market. Intermediate products with technical content can help domestic industries to transform and upgrade, and improve the international competitiveness of products; at the same time, they can also provide a better institutional cooperation environment for enterprises to conduct trade and investment activities in the region, and promote related industries to improve their international level.

　　Yuan Bo said that from the perspective of foreign trade, RCEP not only enables my country to build closer trade ties with neighboring countries, but also promotes the optimization of my country’s trade structure, including importing more high value-added, High-tech products promote the innovative development of new trade formats such as cross-border e-commerce and service trade.

At the same time, by reducing trade and investment barriers, RCEP will not only help to improve the level of international economic circulation between my country and RCEP member countries, and provide more convenience for RCEP member countries to participate in my country’s economic cycle, but also help to smooth blockages and improve domestic economic cycles. The quality and efficiency of the cycle.

　　Shen Minghui, deputy dean of the Institute of Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview that after the implementation of RCEP, with the implementation of rules of origin, customs procedures, inspection and quarantine, technical standards and other trade and investment facilitation measures, it will be greatly optimized The internal business environment of the region, strengthening and coordinating the economic and trade relations between China and other member states, and deepening the cooperation in the division of labor in the value chain in the region will help my country better integrate into the regional and global industrial chain, value chain, and supply chain network, and promote domestic and international Double cycles to achieve high-quality economic development.

　　Build a higher level of openness

　　It is of great significance and far-reaching influence to promote the formation of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the mutual promotion of the domestic and international double cycles.

After the implementation of RCEP, it will become a new important platform for my country to build a new development pattern.

After the implementation of RCEP, China will not only establish free trade relations with Japan for the first time, increase the number of my country’s free trade partners to 26, but also increase China’s free trade coverage to 35%, which means that my country will have more than three points in the future. One of the import and export trades is institutionally guaranteed.

　　"RCEP aims to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial free trade agreement. It not only involves traditional trade in goods, rules of origin, etc., but also includes new topics such as intellectual property rights, e-commerce, competition policy, and government procurement." Shen Minghui Said that, among them, my country’s service trade opening commitment has reached the highest level of existing free trade agreements, and for the first time in the free trade agreement, it has made a commitment to the investment field in the form of a negative list, and promised to grant other member states national treatment before access; for the first time in the free trade agreement Intellectual property provisions are fully included in trade agreements; digital trade rules such as data flow and information storage are included in free trade agreements for the first time. "After RCEP takes effect, it will effectively promote my country’s compliance with international high-level economic and trade rules, and accelerate the opening of commodity factors. Transition to the institutional opening of rules, regulations, management, standards, etc.".

　　Relevant experts said that RCEP regional members are basically export-oriented economies, and their participation in the global industrial chain is very high. In the region, raw materials imported from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are produced and manufactured in China and ASEAN and then exported to developed markets in Europe and America. International industrial chain cooperation model.

Under the influence of the rules of origin accumulated in the RCEP region, more companies will rely on the comparative advantages of member states to flexibly purchase intermediate products such as production materials in the region, coordinate trade and investment layout, and export the products to the region without tax after they are produced. The large internal market will help build a more compact and stable regional industrial chain supply chain system.

　　"The RCEP agreement and other free trade agreements around the world constitute a useful supplement to the multilateral trading system. Through the higher level of openness of some member states under the free trade agreement, the enhancement of cooperation consensus will promote the negotiation of issues and rules at the multilateral level." Yuan Bo said that RCEP and other free trade agreements are mutually complementary and mutually reinforcing.

Regarding bilateral free trade agreements reached between member countries in the region, such as ASEAN-China, ASEAN-Korea, ASEAN-Australia and New Zealand free trade agreements, RCEP is an integration of these agreements and promotes the formation of regionally unified economic and trade rules. There are bilateral agreements superimposed, which together have increased the overall liberalization level of the region.

　　Benefits for businesses and consumers

　　The entry into force of RCEP signifies that the regional unified market has officially started to operate, the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation has been significantly improved, and the market space for enterprises will be significantly expanded.

At the same time, the accumulation rules of the region of origin and the two-way opening of service trade and investment will strengthen regional industrial cooperation, strengthen the supply chain of the regional industrial chain, and ensure smoother business operations of enterprises.

RCEP will create a more complete business environment and a higher level of trade facilitation, and bring better support to enterprises.

For consumers, after the implementation of RCEP, high-quality foreign products will enter the Chinese consumer market more under the incentive of the agreement to enter into force, and consumers will have more choices.

Zero tariffs will reduce the cost of imported goods, and the public can buy foreign products at a more desirable price.

High-level trade facilitation measures will help consumers receive imported goods faster.

　　The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce suggested that enterprises and local governments should make full preparations to seize the important opportunity of RCEP's entry into force.

For enterprises, they should actively study and make good use of the agreement.

On the one hand, we must thoroughly study and be familiar with the content of the agreement, thoroughly understand and make good use of the preferential policies and facilitation rules in the agreement, and be proficient in specific operating procedures such as the application for certificate of origin.

On the other hand, it is necessary to make good use of the accumulation rules of RCEP's origin area, deeply participate in the dynamic adjustment of the industrial chain and supply chain, and strive for greater business opportunities.

At the same time, it is necessary to actively benchmark the international advanced industry level, continuously improve product quality, and continuously enhance market competitiveness.