[ad_1]
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Association (RCEP) is the world’s largest trade agreement in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This pact was proposed in 2012 and is seen as the Chinese reaction to a similar initiative launched by the United States during the presidency of Barak Obama and, meanwhile, abandoned by the government of outgoing President Donald Trump.
The agreement, which paves the way for the creation of a free trade zone, covers ten Southeast Asian economies (Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei) plus China, Japan, Korea. . South, New Zealand and Australia, which they represent around 30% of the world GDP and where more than 2 billion people live.
“I am delighted that after eight years of complex negotiations, we can officially conclude the RCEP negotiations today,” said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, the country that holds the rotating presidency of ASEAN.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, for his part, noted that the fact that the RCEP was signed after eight years of negotiations and with the world in the face of a pandemic, “puts a ray of light and hope in the midst of clouds.” .
“This clearly shows that multilateralism is the right path and represents the right direction for the world economy and the progress of humanity,” the Chinese prime minister was quoted as saying by AFP.
India had planned to join this unprecedented trade pact, but decided last year to pull out for fear of an invasion of cheap Chinese goods into its domestic market. New Delhi, however, reserved the option to join this agreement later.
The RCEP marks a “great step towards liberalizing trade and investment” in the region, said Rajiv Biswas, chief economist for Asia and the Pacific at consultancy IHS Markit.
The signing of the agreement appears in a context of economic crisis, due to the covid-19 epidemic.
This trade pact is also widely seen as a way for China to expand its influence in the region, following the isolationism adopted by the United States during the presidency of Donald Trump.
