The sooner we put RCEP into effect, the better

On December 16, ccPIT hosted a seminar on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) exchange in Beijing. About 50 delegates from embassies and business associations of Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and other RCEP member countries attended the seminar. Zhang Shaogang, vice president of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade hosted the seminar.

Zhang said that the official signing of the RCEP marks the official launch of the world's largest free trade area with the largest population, largest economic and trade scale and the greatest development potential. Faced with the impact of the epidemic and unilateralism, the RCEP is of great significance to stabilizing and promoting regional cooperation in East Asia and world economic recovery. The biggest contribution that the RCEP has made is to unify today's fragmented small markets into a large market made up of 15 countries. In the future, the RCEP members can arrange and integrate the industrial and value chains from an Asia-Pacific perspective, which can be embodied in the following three aspects:

First, the establishment of production bases. Enterprises can select the most ideal place as the production base through in-depth and systematic study and analysis of the arrangements of the trade opening in goods, trade in services and preferential investment policies of the RCEP countries, so as to optimize and maximize the regional preferential policies.

Second, it provides favorable conditions for the reconstruction of industrial chain and value chain. In terms of rules of origin, RCEP applies the principle of regional accumulation in the region, so that the value component of product origin can be accumulated in the region composed of 15 member states, and the value component from either side of RCEP will be taken into account, which will significantly improve the utilization rate of preferential tax rate under the agreement. In terms of trade facilitation, RCEP simplify customs clearance procedures, adopting advance ruling, arrived in pretreatment, using information technology to promote effective management means of customs procedures, where possible, to express cargo, perishable goods, etc. To strive for release after the goods arrived in 6 hours, for general goods also the longest within 48 hours of release of commitment, which will promote the development of express and other new cross-border logistics. RCEP has also made very preferential arrangements for financial services, which is conducive to the integration of capital chains within the region.

Third, we will promote the development of the digital economy. RCEP has made very clear provisions on the standardized development of e-commerce data economy and the promotion of the use and cooperation of e-commerce, which will help to create a favorable environment for the development of e-commerce and greatly promote the development of e-commerce in the region.

Yang Zhengwei, deputy director general of the Department of International Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the signing of the RCEP is of great significance to promoting economic development of countries in the region and boosting confidence of the business community. RCEP will certainly drive the growth of intra-regional trade in goods, enhance the resilience of the industrial and supply chains within the region, further optimize the overall business environment within the region, and enhance investors' confidence in the region.

"At present, China has started the procedures for the entry into force of RCEP domestic agreements and will work hard to complete the preparation for their entry into force within six months. It is expected that the RCEP domestic agreements will be fully approved by the end of May or early June next year." Zheng-wei Yang introduced China to actively promote RCEP ground effect has done a lot of work, "we look forward to the RCEP all members work together to speed up the internal approval process, promote agreement will take effect next year, the sooner the better, real results into RCEP negotiations will promote regional economic growth and improve the welfare of the people's living standard."

The representatives of the embassies and business associations of the participating RCEP member countries introduced the approval procedures and current progress of their RCEP. They all said that as a comprehensive, modern, high-quality and mutually beneficial FREE trade agreement, the RCEP is not only a great benefit to the development of the enterprises of the member countries, but also a great benefit to the regional economic integration. The RCEP is an integral part of multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements in the region. The member states have stressed the need to maintain an open, inclusive and rules-based global trade and investment environment, and are committed to further opening up their markets. This has greatly strengthened the confidence of the business community in expanding trade and investment cooperation in the region. Enterprise was the pioneer of pragmatic cooperation, participants and beneficiaries, only the government, trade and investment promotion agencies and enterprises realize effective linkage, fully take advantage of the preferential terms in the RCEP, can we truly achieve and enlarge its active effect to the enterprise, micro enterprises especially small and medium-sized enterprise to bring huge benefit, market provides more opportunities for them to enter member states. The government departments of the MEMBER states will speed up the entry into force procedures, make policy arrangements in advance, and make authoritative interpretation and public publicity through various channels to help enterprises make full use of the development opportunities brought by the RCEP, so that the preferential terms of the RCEP can benefit the business community in the region more quickly and better.

"Ccpit, on behalf of the Chinese business community, has been following closely and actively participating in the RCEP process. The Chinese business community expects all member states of the RCEP to complete their domestic entry into force procedures as soon as possible so as to push the big ship to officially set sail." Zhang said that ccPIT will take the signing and entry into force of the RCEP as an opportunity to step up publicity, conduct authoritative interpretation of the policy to enterprises, and help them keep abreast of the latest information on the RCEP and become familiar with and skilled in the application of relevant provisions. We will strengthen professional services, hold various forms of TRAINING on the RCEP, and compile guidelines on the business application of the RCEP. We will improve the electronicalization, intelligentization and facilitation of preferential origin visas, so as to provide practical services for enterprises to better utilize the RCEP to explore the international market. We will actively carry out cooperation with trade promotion agencies and business associations of the RCEP member countries, and build a platform for exchanges and cooperation so that the benefits of the RCEP will benefit the business communities of all countries at an early date.