In 2022, the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership" (hereinafter referred to as "RCEP") will come into effect, which will promote the formation of the three major trade sectors of East Asia Pacific, Europe and North America, and fundamentally change the geographical map of global free trade areas. , China's foreign trade environment ushered in positive changes.

As a time-honored trading port, a gateway city for China's foreign trade, an important hub for the Belt and Road Initiative, and a core engine for the regional development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou has a solid foundation for foreign trade and economics. The mission of the domestic big cycle and the important strategic meeting point of China Unicom's domestic and international dual cycles.

The implementation of RCEP has brought new opportunities for Guangzhou to open to the outside world.

  Guangzhou should seize the opportunity of opening RCEP, make full use of the new opportunities of building a world-first-tier city, build a new pattern of open economy, provide new momentum for building a world-class industrial chain and the core chain of the supply chain, and enhance the cultural soft power of Guangzhou. Expand exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations, and accelerate the establishment of a new image as a global regional cultural center and a center for international exchanges.

  Seize the new opportunities of opening up and build a more influential first-tier city in the world

  Since the beginning of this year, Guangzhou has successively promulgated a series of measures such as the "Guangzhou Council for the Promotion of International Trade to Promote the High-quality Implementation of RCEP" and "Nansha Free Trade Zone Benchmarking RCEP CPTPP to Further Deepen Reform and Expand the Pilot Measures", and launched 11 measures to benefit enterprises to build Nansha. The RCEP Pilot Demonstration Zone takes the lead in promoting the high-quality implementation of RCEP and comprehensively connecting with the RCEP rules.

  As one of the pioneer cities in China's foreign economic and trade cooperation, Guangzhou is accelerating the construction of an international business center and an international consumption center.

At the same time, Guangzhou is also a "geometric center" connecting RCEP member countries. It has close economic and trade exchanges with RCEP member countries, and has developed far-reaching cultural and friendly exchanges.

Therefore, Guangzhou should seize the opportunity of RCEP to take effect and become a regional international hub city of RCEP, focus on promoting the construction of "big hub" with "big opening", support the pattern of "big opening" with "big hub", and enhance its status as a first-tier city in the world development level.

  The world-class transportation infrastructure system is the key support for Guangzhou to link the world and radiate the hinterland.

On the one hand, the terms of RCEP have made high-level commitments to the service sectors such as air transport, maritime transport, construction, real estate, transportation, telecommunications, and finance. Guangzhou should actively participate in the open construction of road transport, air transport, maritime transport and internal water transport. Link the "5+10+N" logistics hub layout system, and jointly build an international logistics channel with land, sea and air linkage and regional coordination and mutual assistance with RCEP member countries, so that the transportation and logistics hubs are more intensive and efficient, the transportation and logistics channel network is more perfect and smooth, and logistics services are provided. Better performance.

On the other hand, Guangzhou should also promote institutional opening characterized by rules, regulations, management and standards, connect customs procedures and trade facilitation clauses in RCEP, and explore and optimize customs declaration, border inspection, adjudication, certification, customs clearance, and supervision. and other links, build a cross-border e-commerce public service platform to realize functions such as electronic monitoring of the whole process of customs clearance, and automatic "three orders comparison"; We will strengthen the construction of an international marketing system, cultivate a public service platform for international marketing, attract more small and medium-sized enterprises to form groups and integrate into the regional industrial chain, and do a good job of "soft connection" between the system and international standards.

In addition, we should also focus on the construction needs of new infrastructure such as logistics systems, payment systems, and warehousing systems in Southeast Asian countries, guide local high-tech enterprises to carry out investment cooperation, and build an infrastructure that integrates flow of people, logistics, capital, and information. Support system, so as to improve the level of internal and external connectivity in Guangzhou.

  Inject new momentum of opening up and improve the international industrial chain supply chain system

  Guangzhou should focus on the three distinctive international markets in RCEP, and promote Guangzhou to consolidate and develop the industrial chain, supply chain and value chain from different dimensions.

  First of all, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and other countries have developed economies, complete market mechanisms and a good legal business environment, and their information and communication technology industries have the potential to jointly carry out technical research and industrial chain layout with Guangzhou.

In terms of new energy and sustainable development industries, it also has huge potential for cooperation with Guangzhou's photovoltaic, energy saving, new energy vehicles and other industries.

For example, the promotion of Guangzhou Sino-Singapore Knowledge City will provide a broader space for Singapore's high-end industrial resources to enter Guangzhou.

The combination of these national advanced high-end manufacturing core technologies and Guangzhou's strong modern industrial manufacturing capabilities is expected to work together to open up the whole process innovation chain, help Guangzhou to accelerate the cultivation of strategic pillar industry clusters and strategic emerging industry clusters, and improve the supply chain of the industrial chain. Stability and competitiveness, and enhance the concentration and radiation level of high-end elements.

  Secondly, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc. are ASEAN member countries with large market scales. In terms of their respective industrial development needs, they are closely aligned with Guangzhou's advantageous fields such as information communication, electronics, electric power, energy development, and agriculture. There is a wider space for collaboration.

The capacity cooperation between Guangzhou and these countries can speed up the regional internationalization of the traditional industrial chain, enhance the import guarantee capability of the whole chain of overseas grain, energy and resources, and enable Guangzhou's characteristic service exports and service outsourcing to gain opportunities for transformation and upgrading.

  Thirdly, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and other countries have strong development potential, and their major investment fields such as hydropower, agriculture, minerals and minerals can become production bases for fashion industries such as jewelry, leather goods, and decoration in Guangzhou, which will help Guangzhou to further enhance global consumption. The degree of pooling of resources can meet the supply guarantee demand of high-quality and affordable products for consumption upgrades, activate consumption potential, play the function of "new consumer goods transit station" facing the domestic market, and create a new highland for global consumption trends.

  In general, the highly facilitation rules of RCEP will help Guangzhou to "strengthen the chain", "supplement the chain", "extend the chain" and "build the chain", and build an international supply chain integrating design, production, research and development, manufacturing, logistics and sales. system.

On the one hand, we should closely follow the RCEP e-commerce rules, speed up the digital application process of paperless trade, electronic authentication signature, blockchain, cross-border payment, etc., support cross-border e-commerce enterprises to actively explore East Asian and Southeast Asian markets, and support social e-commerce. New forms and new models of foreign trade such as e-commerce, live broadcast e-commerce, etc., piloted in the Nansha Free Trade Zone to promote the digital upgrade of the entire trade chain and the digital transformation of trade entities, and stimulate the expansion and quality of consumption in the mainland and international markets.

On the other hand, combined with Guangzhou's own endowment advantages, make good use of RCEP's origin accumulation rules to expand the export scale of fast-moving consumer goods, home appliances, automobiles, toys, shoes and hats and other advantageous products, as well as high-quality commodities, advanced technologies, important equipment, and key components. To increase the import scale, rationally arrange the gradient transfer of processing trade, expand the production scale of intermediate products, set up a number of characteristic service export bases, give full play to the driving effect of the "chain master", and promote the optimization of the layout of the international industrial chain supply chain.

  Create a new image of openness and accelerate the construction of a foreign cultural exchange portal

  At present, RCEP has the most abundant chapters on intellectual property, which has created favorable conditions for cooperation among member states in cultural industries such as copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications, patents, and designs.

  Guangzhou's cultural industry is becoming a new engine for economic and social development.

In 2020, the city's above-scale cultural and related industries will achieve an operating income of 402.642 billion yuan, and emerging advantageous industries such as animation, digital music, online games, e-sports live broadcast, and cultural equipment manufacturing will take the lead in the country, and show a development trend of rising to the mid-to-high end. .

At the same time, Guangzhou has established friendly relations with 100 cities in 66 countries, marking the completion of the "Hundred Cities Plan" of Guangzhou sister cities.

It can be seen that Guangzhou has the industrial foundation and cultural advantages for cultural exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries. It should seize the current opportunity, create a new image of opening up, and accelerate the construction of a foreign cultural exchange portal.

  In this regard, Guangzhou should focus on building a cultural and creative industry highland, continue to increase its support and cultivation in the fields of digital content originality, dissemination and service, connect with RCEP's service trade and intellectual property provisions, and take the lead in obtaining film, music, and games with RCEP member states. Substantial cooperation results in , publishing, design, sports, etc., improve the allocation and radiation level of cultural resources in East and Southeast Asian cultural areas, build a leading area for the coordinated development of cultural industries across regions, tell the story of Guangzhou to the world, and let the world "read Understand Guangzhou" and "Understand China".

  (The author Liu Wei is director and researcher of the Institute of International Studies, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences; Zhao Hengyu is an assistant researcher of the Institute of International Studies, Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences)