Photo taken on Jan. 1, 2022 shows containers loading and unloading at the Port of Morah in Brunei, operated by a joint venture between China and Brunei. (Xinhua)

In 2012, the 10 ASEAN countries launched the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). On November 15, 2020, 10 ASEAN countries and five other Asia-Pacific countries, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand, formally signed the agreement. On November 2, 2021, RCEP reached the entry-into-force threshold. On January 1, 2022, the Agreement entered into force for the 10 countries that had submitted their instruments of ratification. RCEP covers a population of 2.27 billion and accounts for 33% of global GDP and 30% of global exports. As a free trade agreement with the largest number of participants, the most diverse membership structure, the largest economic scale, and the greatest development potential in the world, the RCEP's entry into force has created new opportunities for deepening regional cooperation, injected strong impetus into the opening-up and integration of the world economy, and provided a powerful engine for the sustained prosperity of the Chinese economy.

Deepening economic openness and integration, taking regional cooperation to a new level

First, the effective implementation of RCEP helps foster new growth points for regional economic and trade cooperation and deepen economic openness and integration in East Asia.

From the perspective of economic and trade cooperation, the effective implementation of the RCEP will enhance regional trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, promote trade and investment exchanges among countries in the region, and push the "accelerator button" for expanding regional trade and investment. Specifically, in the area of trade, on the one hand, after RCEP takes effect, tariffs on over 90% of trade in goods approved by RCEP members will eventually be zero, injecting positive energy into the prosperity and development of regional trade in goods; on the other hand, all the 15 RCEP member countries have made commitments on the opening-up of trade in services that are deeper than those in the 10+1 Free Trade Agreement, which will greatly improve and upgrade intra-regional trade in services. In the area of investment, RCEP has clarified the prohibition of performance requirements, adopted the negative list model to make relevant commitments on non-service investment, and strengthened investment protection, which is conducive to promoting fruitful investment in the region.

From the perspective of industrial and supply chain operation, the effective implementation of RCEP will increase their stickiness, expand the network of regional industrial and supply chains, and contribute to maintaining smooth and stable regional industrial and supply chains. At present, profound changes unseen in a century are intertwined with the pandemic of the century, and the industrial and supply chains of the region and the world are facing unprecedented challenges. Against such a grim backdrop, the RCEP's entry into force and the launch of the world's largest free trade zone will facilitate the smooth and orderly flow of various economic factors, such as people and goods, strengthen the division of production and cooperation among countries in the region, and effectively contribute to the security, stability, and the integration of regional industrial and supply chains.

Second, the effective implementation of RCEP will help enhance economic connectivity in the Asia-Pacific and usher in a new stage of regional integration. As the world's largest free trade agreement, the scheduled entry into force of RCEP will speed up negotiations on the China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area and boost confidence in the eventual conclusion of the agreement. Through RCEP, China and Japan, China and Korea have established their first free-trade partnerships, which will unleash potentials of practical cooperation among the three countries, expand the space for mutually beneficial cooperation, and create favorable conditions for the smooth conclusion of a trilateral free trade agreement. RCEP is also a modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial new type of free trade agreement signed by 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. It covers about one-third of the global economy and is seen as an important force driving higher-quality and deeper integration in the region. When RCEP is implemented, it will contribute to the implementation of the APEC’s connectivity blueprint, raise the level of regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, and promote the building of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. It will provide strong support for the building of an Asia-Pacific community of shared future featuring open, inclusive, innovative growth, connectivity, and win-win cooperation.

Aerial photo taken on Jan. 6, 2018 shows the China-Laos Railway (Huaihua-Vientiane) international freight train departing from Huaihua International Land Port in Huaihua, Central China's Hunan Province. (Xinhua)

Embracing multilateralism and free trade, opening up new prospects for global economic cooperation

The RCEP's entry into force is of great significance to global development, as it will help boost economic recovery in the post-pandemic era, improve the global economic governance system, and embrace multilateralism and free trade.

First of all, in 2021, repeated outbreaks of COVID-19 continue to spread its impacts, the industrial chain of countries has suffered a huge blow, and global economic recovery has been disrupted. At the same time, Cold War geostrategic thinking is undermining the general trend of world economic and trade cooperation and hindering global economic development. According to an international think tank, by 2030, RCEP is expected to boost member countries' exports by $519 billion and national income by $186 billion annually. By promoting trade liberalization, investment facilitation, and global supply chain optimization, RCEP will inject strong impetus into global economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era, and help the world economy avoid risks and develop steadily.

Second, RCEP covers economies at different stages of development, and facilitates sound interaction and win-win cooperation between emerging and developed economies, which is an advantage that other regional agreements cannot match. In addition to unified tariff concession, RCEP innovations on origin cumulation rules, investment negative lists, and ratchet mechanism are setting a new model for global economic and trade cooperation. At present, the contradiction between the global economic governance system and the development of the international situation has intensified. RCEP will promote the development of the global economic governance system in a more just and equitable direction that benefits all.

Third, RCEP is the first regional economic and trade agreement to include differential treatment clauses in its dispute settlement mechanism, taking into account the differences in economic development levels among member states. It embodies the spirit of development featuring fairness, justice, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit. There is a fierce struggle between two orientations in the world today. One is to engage in isolation, monopolization, protectionism of group confrontation; the other is to promote solidarity and cooperation, openness and integration, and win-win results for the benefit of all mankind. History and practical experience tell us that openness rather than isolation, integration rather than decoupling, and mutual benefit rather than self-interest, are the key to overcoming difficulties and the right way to guide the sound development of the global economy. The signing of RCEP demonstrates the faith of member states in multilateralism and free trade. As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stressed, the effective implementation of RCEP is a major victory for multilateralism and free trade. In the face of upheavals and changes unseen in a century, the force of international progress and cooperation has become an irresistible trend.

Facilitating dual-cycle development, promoting the formulation of new systems for an open economy

To stabilize the external cycle and boost the internal cycle, the RCEP's entry into force will promote the establishment of a dual-cycle development pattern in China and the formulation of a new system of a higher-level open economy.

First of all, RCEP will help build a dual-cycle development pattern in China.

On the one hand, RCEP connects resources and markets in the region, connects supply and demand at home and abroad, and enhances the stability of the regional economic development environment through the establishment of integrated rules, thus safeguarding the smooth operation of the external circulation. RCEP member countries are geographically adjacent, with diverse levels of development, diverse resource endowments, complementary industrial strengths, and huge market potentials. These favorable conditions can help China reduce its dependence on the United States and other Western developed economies, enhance the security of China's industrial and supply chains, and improve China's ability to withstand risks of international political and economic turbulences.

On the other hand, RCEP will help Chinese enterprises fully integrate into the big market and inject new impetus into the internal cycle. Through tariff concessions, unified rules of origin, and efficient facilitation measures, goods and manufacturing raw materials in the region have become more mobile, business transaction costs have fallen, and international competitiveness has increased. The high-level opening-up requires Chinese enterprises to directly target international advanced enterprises, adopt international technical standards, improve product quality, and break key technological bottlenecks, to continuously enhance enterprises’ ability to participate in international cooperation and competition. The process will also promote China's manufacturing sector to move to the medium-high end and upgrade its industrial structure.

Second, the RCEP's entry into force will promote the formulation of a new system of an open economy of higher standards.

On the one hand, investment liberalization and trade facilitation will enhance China's openness and promote economic growth. Opening up investment will not only stabilize existing foreign investment at home and attract more foreign investment, but also help domestic capital to better go global and expand and optimize the layout of industrial chains. With the opening of the commodity market, enterprises can obtain better equipment and raw materials at lower cost, improve product quality, meet the upgrading demand of domestic consumption, and improve the overseas reputation of Chinese products. According to an assessment report on the impacts of RCEP on regional economies released by the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, by 2035, RCEP will increase China's exports by $315.4 billion and imports by $306.8 billion, and its economic welfare will increase by $99.6 billion.

On the other hand, by upgrading opening-up, RCEP will promote technological and institutional innovation in China. RCEP covers new areas such as e-commerce and artificial intelligence and carries out new cooperation in global digital and green governance. Technological innovation and digital transformation have promoted the integration of China and ASEAN countries in the era of the digital economy, as well as further technological innovation in China. RCEP's attempts at new international trade rules have helped China better adapt to new changes in international trade rules. These high-standard rules not only reflect China's determination to deepen opening-up and confidence in promoting trade liberalization and globalization, but also provide China with opportunities to adapt to the new rules, accumulate experience in formulating new rules, and point out the direction for future institutional innovation. In addition, the success of RCEP will lay a solid foundation for China's participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (CPTPP) with higher standards in the next step.

Looking into the future, faced with the overlapping resonance of the changes of the century and the worldwide pandemic, as one of the most active participants in and contributors to RCEP, China will firmly support the centrality of ASEAN and work with other member states to open a new chapter of prosperity.

By Huang Dahui and Shen Chuanxin, from School of International Studies, Renmin University of China

Translated by Zhang Andi

来源：GMW.cn