On the first anniversary of its entry into force, what has RCEP brought to the world?

(Economic Observer) On the first anniversary of its entry into force, what has RCEP brought to the world?

　　China News Agency, Beijing, January 1 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) As of January 1, 2023, the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) has been in force for one year.

Against the background of the overall gloomy outlook of the world economy, RCEP has become a rare bright spot.

　　In the past year, RCEP has brought substantial benefits to member states.

Taking China as an example, the total import and export volume between China and other RCEP members from January to November 2022 was 11.8 trillion yuan (RMB, the same below), a year-on-year increase of 7.9%, which was significantly higher than the growth rate of China's trade with the EU and the United States during the same period, accounting for China's total. The total foreign trade import and export accounted for 30.7%.

Among them, China's exports to other RCEP members reached 6.0 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.7%, which exceeded the overall growth rate of national exports by 5.8 percentage points.

　　Intra-regional economic and trade ties are also getting closer due to RCEP.

According to the agreement, more than 90% of the goods trade in the region will eventually achieve zero tariffs.

According to the cumulative rules of origin, as long as the value-added part of the product in the process of processing belongs to 15 member countries, and the cumulative value-added exceeds 40%, it can enjoy the corresponding tariff preference.

This brings more confidence to Chinese and ASEAN companies to carry out transnational cooperation.

　　According to Chinese statistics, the total trade value between China and ASEAN in the first 11 months of 2022 will increase by 15.5% year-on-year, accounting for 15.4% of China's total foreign trade value. ASEAN will continue to be China's largest trading partner.

Among them, China's exports to ASEAN were 3.42 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate of 22.2%.

　　Yang Changyong, a researcher at the Institute of Foreign Economics of the China Academy of Macroeconomics, said that since the implementation of RCEP, China and ASEAN have achieved a higher level of trade liberalization and facilitation on the basis of the original free trade area, and the trade exchanges between the two sides have become closer.

This has played a strong role in promoting the high-quality development of China's foreign trade and building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

　　Talking about the "success code" of RCEP, Zhou Mi, a researcher at the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce of China, said that RCEP respects the differences of all parties and provides a longer transition period for the least developed member states to alleviate the possibility of market opening. Therefore, all parties can obtain greater development benefits from regional economic cooperation.

　　Analysts believe that at a time when unexpected factors such as the epidemic and the Ukrainian crisis have disrupted the global economic and trade structure, and the world economy and trade are generally sluggish, RCEP has provided rare stability and certainty for the regional and even world economy, effectively hedging unilateralism , Various risks brought about by trade protectionism.

　　Zhou Mi said that RCEP has accelerated the effective allocation of resource elements through market competition and enhanced the competitiveness and influence of regional industrial chains in the global supply chain.

The basis of economic and trade cooperation is resource endowment and industry, and the sound cooperation foundation that has been formed among RCEP member countries has become the cornerstone of further development.

Through complementary cooperation and international transfer of industries, the efficiency of market supply and demand in the RCEP region has been improved.

　　The RCEP bonus does not stop there.

Indonesia will formally fulfill its RCEP commitments from January 1, and Hong Kong, China, is also advancing its application to join RCEP.

In addition, according to regulations, most member states will fulfill more commitments in each new year, including lowering tariffs, expanding market access, and reducing barriers.

These commitments will reduce the cost and difficulty of regional allocation of various elements, and promote the formation of new trade and investment opportunities.

　　Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shu Jueting recently stated that China will use RCEP as a new starting point to negotiate and sign free trade agreements with more trading partners, expand the network of high-standard free trade areas facing the world; further improve trade in goods, trade in services and Invest in the level of market openness, actively participate in negotiations on new rules and issues such as digital economy and environmental protection, and steadily expand institutional openings such as rules, regulations, management, and standards.

　　There is reason to expect that with the improvement of member states' ability to use RCEP and the continuous expansion of the number, the vitality and vitality of RCEP will be further highlighted, injecting new growth momentum into the regional and the entire world economy.

(use up)