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Original title: RCEP Overlap in Free Trade Zone Will Lead to “Multiplying Effect” of China-ASEAN Cooperation and Development
China News Service, Nanning, November 30
China News Agency reporter Yang Qiang Huang Lingyan
The 17th China-ASEAN Expo was held in Nanning, Guangxi from 27 to 30. It coincided with the 10th anniversary of the completion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement was officially signed. The RCEP, which covers 15 countries, is considered the “extension” of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. Political dignitaries, experts and academics from many countries participating here said the combination of the two will lead to the “multiplier effect” of China-ASEAN cooperation in the post-epidemic era. .
Historic changes: China and ASEAN are each other’s most important trading partners
“The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has become one of the most mature and fruitful free trade agreements in Asia in the 10 years since its comprehensive establishment,” Li Chenggang, China’s Deputy Minister of Commerce, commented on 28 of November.
On the same day, the special forum for the 10th anniversary of the completion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was held in Nanning, Guangxi. Statistics released by China’s Ministry of Commerce show that tariffs on 7,000 products have been canceled under the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and more than 90% of products have achieved zero tariffs. China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years and ASEAN has also become China’s largest trading partner for the first time this year. In the first three quarters of this year, in the face of the outbreak of the new corona pneumonia epidemic, the volume of bilateral trade opposed the trend and increased by 5%, and China’s investment in ASEAN increased by 76.6%.
As Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Julin Rasanawisi pointed out, the cooperative relationship between China and ASEAN is full of vitality. “Despite the spread of the epidemic, the global economy has slowed, but the trade relationship between ASEAN and China has continued to improve, reflecting our growing ability to adapt to the external environment.”
The 10 years since the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was fully established have been dubbed the “10 Golden Years” by officials from China and ASEAN countries. And in October last year, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Update “Protocol” came into force in full. Li Chenggang called: “China-ASEAN should implement the future work plan to improve the” Protocol “and jointly build the next golden decade of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.”
China-ASEAN ushered in the RCEP era
The implementation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement has laid a solid foundation for the negotiation and signing of the RCEP. On November 15 this year, the 10 ASEAN countries and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand jointly signed the RCEP, and the world’s largest free trade zone was announced.
Malaysia’s Minister of Industry and International Trade Azmin Ali noted that the historic signing of the RCEP will certainly have a positive impact on the trade relationship between ASEAN and China. In the post-epidemic era, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area and RCEP will push bilateral trade and economic relations to a new level.
Vietnam’s Consul General in Nanning Huang Yurong also stated that the signing of the RCEP will usher in an era of more active development of economic and trade exchanges between ASEAN and China.
Free Trade Zone Continues to Drive RCEP Progress
“RCEP and the free trade area are an integrated effect of 1 + 1> 2. The value and energy contained in the China-ASEAN free trade area can be multiplied through RCEP to further consolidate the trade results and investment achieved in the full realization of the free trade area “. Lu Yimin, associate professor at Guangxi University of Finance and Economics, believes that China and ASEAN as a whole will participate in the external business cycle more effectively, establish a broader cross-border trade and industrial chain, and expand trade more effectively. joint.
Will RCEP Replace China-ASEAN Free Trade Area Cooperation? Wang Zhengxu, Distinguished Professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University and a researcher at “One Belt One Road” and the Institute of Global Governance at Fudan University, answered no. He believes that the two parallel developments will not “dilute” the prospects for China-ASEAN cooperation after the signing of the RCEP.
Wang Zhengxu said that the relationship between China and ASEAN has gone beyond the simple concept of mutual trading partners and a free trade framework. Close diplomatic relations and cultural exchanges between China and ASEAN, especially between China and the Lancang-Mekong countries, will continue to promote the deeper development of China-ASEAN relations.
“Among the five ’10 + 1’s of RCEP, China-ASEAN relations, as the most successful and dynamic model of Asia-Pacific regional cooperation, have been playing a leading role. The free trade zone will continue to drive the development of RCEP. up to a point. Progress, “said Zhai Kun, a professor at the Peking University School of International Relations and vice president of the China Association for Southeast Asian Studies. (End up)
