General

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) will come into effect on January 1, 2022. How is the preparation for the implementation of RCEP progress? What impact will the formal entry into force of the agreement bring? The person in charge of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the RCEP's coming into effect.

u3000u3000 Ministry of Commerce: RCEP will come into effect soon, China is ready

u3000u3000 On January 1 next year, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, also known as RCEP, will enter into force in the 10 approved member states. The head of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce gave an interview at the CIIE a few days ago and introduced the relevant situation of RCEP's coming into effect.

u3000u3000 Yu Benlin, director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that on April 15 this year, China submitted an approval letter to the ASEAN Secretary-General, becoming one of the first countries to complete the agreement. Within half a year after the signing of the agreement, China has prepared all the implementation preparations to ensure the full performance of its obligations when the agreement takes effect.

u3000u3000 Yu Benlin, Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce: In terms of implementing tax reductions, the tariff reduction implementation plan has been formulated, the rules of origin implementation are ready, and the customs system has been upgraded, which can ensure that tariff reductions and exemptions will be implemented as soon as they take effect.

u3000u3000 In addition, Yu Benlin also stated that RCEP will significantly enhance the level of economic integration in East Asia and promote a substantial increase in trade and investment within the region. After the agreement comes into effect, more than 90% of the goods trade between approved members will eventually achieve zero tariffs, and the tax will be reduced to zero immediately and within 10 years, which means that countries will exchange spot goods trade in a relatively short period of time. The promise of liberalization.

Yu Benlin, Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce: Relaxing market access among member states and establishing a unified rule system will create a stable, free and interconnected business environment for enterprises from all countries, thereby deepening the cooperation and development of industrial chains and supply chains in the region .

u3000u3000What are the contents of RCEP?

u3000u3000 The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or RCEP, has 20 chapters, including trade in goods, trade in services, investment access and corresponding rules, covering e-commerce, intellectual property rights, competition policy, etc.

u3000u3000 After the RCEP officially takes effect, it will greatly optimize the overall business environment in the region, promote a substantial increase in trade and investment in the region, and bring vigorous business opportunities.

In the field of service trade, the level of openness under the RCEP of each country is significantly higher than their respective "10+1" agreements, covering many important areas such as finance, telecommunications, transportation, tourism, education, etc., and will be fully transformed into The negative list further enhances the level of openness.

In the field of investment, each member made a high-quality commitment to non-service sector investment by adopting the negative list method, and no new restrictions should be added to the list. At the same time, the level of investment protection has been strengthened, which is conducive to the mutual expansion of investment by enterprises from various countries in the region, and it is also conducive to China. Enterprises "go out".

u3000u3000 Yu Benlin, Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that after the full implementation of RCEP, it will drive nearly one-third of the world's economy to form a unified super-large-scale market. The room for development is extremely broad, and it will inject strong impetus into regional and global economic growth.

u3000u3000 What changes will RCEP bring?

u3000u3000 What changes will RCEP bring about after its effective implementation? What can our ordinary consumers feel personally?

u3000u3000 To put it simply, after the RCEP takes effect, high-quality consumer goods from RCEP member states will enter the Chinese market with lower tariffs, and the people will be able to buy more high-quality and low-cost goods. The movement of people is more free, and traveling abroad is more convenient and faster. In addition, investment in the region is more efficient, and business operating costs are reduced.

Specifically, RCEP has further relaxed the market access of goods, services, investment and other fields among member states, unified the rules of origin, customs procedures, inspection and quarantine, technical standards, etc., and established high-level intellectual property rights, e-commerce, and government Regulations on procurement, competition and trade remedies will create a stable, free, convenient, and interconnected high-quality business environment for companies from all over the world. After the RCEP takes effect, it will promote the free flow of economic factors in the region, strengthen cooperation in the division of labor between members, promote the expansion and upgrade of the consumer market in the region, and achieve the further consolidation and development of the industrial chain, supply chain and value chain in the region.

Yu Benlin, Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that RCEP will strongly promote the economic growth of its member countries after the epidemic. RCEP member countries will promote the agreement to enter into force as scheduled. Boost the confidence of member countries and work together to achieve economic recovery after the epidemic.

u3000u3000RCEP builds the world's largest free trade zone

u3000u3000 At present, the total population of RCEP member countries is 2.27 billion, the total economic volume is US$26 trillion, and the total export volume is US$5.2 trillion, both accounting for about 30% of the global total.

u3000u3000 After the effective implementation of RCEP, it will become the free trade zone with the largest participating population, the most diverse membership structure, and the greatest potential for development in the world, as well as the largest free trade zone in the world.

u3000u3000 The "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement," or RCEP, was initiated by ASEAN in 2012 and is a free trade agreement reached by 15 members including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the ten ASEAN countries over eight years. The agreement was signed by 15 member states on November 15, 2020. Once the agreement comes into force, the member states will immediately reduce taxes in accordance with the provisions of the agreement, fulfill their service investment opening commitments, and implement the rules in all areas of the agreement. The UNCTAD research report shows that by 2025, RCEP will bring more than 10% to the export growth of 15 member countries.

u3000u3000 After the effective implementation of RCEP, it will promote one-third of my country's trade to achieve zero tariffs, drive the opening of corresponding services and investment, promote trade facilitation and improve the business environment, which is of great significance to my country's construction of a new development pattern.

u3000u3000 Ministry of Commerce: Looking forward to the full implementation of RCEP in the region as soon as possible

u3000u3000 Currently, RCEP has 15 member states, and the agreement will come into effect in 10 countries including Brunei, Cambodia, China, and Japan from January 1 next year. So, when will the other 5 member states take effect? When will RCEP be fully implemented in the region?

u3000u3000 In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce introduced that according to the relevant provisions of RCEP, the agreement will take effect for these countries on the 60th day after the approval process is completed and the approval letter is submitted by the ASEAN Secretary-General.

u3000u3000 At present, other signatories to the relevant agreements are speeding up their domestic approval procedures, and they all indicated that they will complete the approval as soon as possible. China expects RCEP to enter into force for all signatories as soon as possible so that the agreement can be fully implemented in the region as soon as possible.