General

The conclusion of RCEP means that trade liberalization has entered a new stage, enriching and developing the connotation of international economic and trade cooperation system and mechanism. First of all, on the whole, the members of the agreement will achieve zero tariff on more than 90% of the tax items, which is conducive to the convenient flow of goods, technology, services, capital and people in the region, effectively promoting international trade and investment and enhancing the attractiveness of foreign investment. Secondly, through RCEP, the free trade relations between two pairs of important countries, China, Japan and South Korea, have been added. For the first time, China has reached free trade agreements with Japan and Japan with South Korea. This will undoubtedly give our country a new development pattern with the domestic big cycle as the main body and the domestic and international double cycles promoting each other, with greater encouragement, greater opportunities and greater determination. Third, this agreement has formulated relatively strict e-commerce rules, and China's e-commerce is ranked first in the world in terms of scale, effect, practice and total volume. After joining, we can better adapt to the digital trend, use and even influence the revision of future digital rules. International trade has broad prospects and unlimited possibilities. RCEP has opened another beautiful article in the process of China's opening up. We must write it down and do it well.

Therefore, the author suggests that: First, we should continue to promote institutional opening. In the process of the gradual implementation of RCEP, we do not want to "join in the fun", but "watch the door". The so-called "watch the door" is that through RCEP, we can really understand the gap with the world, which is like a mirror, reflecting the direction of our efforts, and more importantly, finding more space for cooperation with other parties. In this regard, China's free trade zone should take the initiative to make serious research, in-depth analysis and efforts to promote around RCEP. Hainan Free Trade Port and the new port area of Shanghai Free Trade Zone should sort out and test all the provisions of the standard RCEP, further integrate international practices and rules, establish the concept of "rule based", steadily promote the deep opening of international trade, investment and financial markets, strive to create a strategic link of domestic and international double cycles, and gradually replicate and promote in 21 free trade zones across the country, giving full play to the advantages of being first and first, To explore new ways and accumulate experience for further opening up.

For example, the new port area has made many explorations in the financial field of opening up to the outside world, introduced the "30 financial rules", and released the Action Plan for Accelerating the Development of Emerging Financial Industries in the New Port Area (2022-2025) on the third anniversary of the opening of the new area this year, so as to accelerate the formation of a financial open innovation system with free capital. On this basis, we can further expand the scope of financial opening up such as bank, securities and insurance market access, carry out high-level opening pilot of foreign exchange management, support enterprises to increase the proportion of people's currency in cross-border trade settlement and other financial service trade, promote cross-border two-way flow of RMB funds, and attract more overseas institutions to participate in China's financial market, Prospering cross-border finance and related supporting industries, and building a financial service system that connects with international high standards.

Secondly, actively explore digital trade. Digital trade is the direction of future trade development and the focus of a new round of international trade competition. RCEP clearly treats digital trade with a more open attitude. While promoting cross-border trade, it also regulates cross-border data transmission. For example, the chapter on "e-commerce" and the chapter on "intellectual property" (which is the largest and longest chapter in the RCEP agreement, with particular emphasis on intellectual property protection in the Internet era) restrict cross-border data transmission. China still has a lot of space to explore in this regard. Taking the financial industry as an example, domestic financial institutions still rely heavily on SWIFT in international payment and settlement, and their support for CIPS (RMB cross-border payment system) is insufficient. Domestic and foreign financial institutions need to transfer business, customer and enterprise management data between domestic and foreign branches, and involve data interaction between different applications, which is more limited in practice.

It is suggested to actively explore a new digital cross-border flow mechanism with RCEP members, handle the institutional connection between the implementation of the Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Data Security Law of the People's Republic of China and the negotiation of international high standard trade agreements, improve the supervision of cross-border data and digital trade, and support and promote more financial institutions to participate in the innovation pilot of cross-border data circulation, Aiming at "specific scenarios of specific enterprises, exploratory pilots are allowed to be carried out within a certain period of time", and focusing on the special needs of some special application scenarios, such as offshore financial services, "two ends out" digital trade services, etc., we will explore and establish more free, convenient and efficient international data circulation and data services in new port areas, and promote CIPS upgrading, And accumulate experience for China to participate in the construction of global digital trade rule system.

Third, constantly optimize the business environment. If we want to swim in the vast ocean of the world trade market, we must optimize the business environment, which is involved in many aspects of RCEP. How to evaluate the business environment? There are five dimensions in the world, namely, political stability and integrity, economic activity and order, cultural inclusion and characteristics, social fairness and justice, and sound and progressive rule of law. Whether it is RCEP or CPTPP or other high-level international economic and trade agreements in recent years, the "one fair and four protection" has always been the core of many articles, that is, a fair competition environment and the protection of investors' rights and interests, workers' rights and interests, environmental protection and intellectual property protection.

China's high-level opening up is an opening up that promotes deep reform. We should combine institutional opening with comprehensive reform. Therefore, we should create a more fair, convenient, predictable and attractive foreign investment environment, respect and conform to international practices in market access, commercial registration, enterprise operation, social services, etc., further improve the level of trade and investment facilitation, improve the international commercial legal service system, strengthen the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of market subjects, and take marketization, rule of law, and internationalization as the goal, Establish an institutional system that is consistent with the RCEP rules. There is no best business environment, only better. We should carry out the reform with such determination.

RCEP has strengthened confidence in economic globalization. Looking ahead and moving forward, international trade has made great achievements. We should promote cooperation in the process of opening up, join hands with the people of the world, and share the future!