RCEP cooperation to continue growing, forum hears

Cooperation among Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership economies will continue to flourish and create benefits for the people of the region, a forum in South China's Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, opened on Tuesday.

RCEP allows the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to progress toward a new level of regional economic integration, laying the foundation for a thriving digital economy and expanding opportunities for traders and businesses across ASEAN and other RCEP countries, including China, said ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn at the RCEP High-Level Dialogue on Economic and Trade Cooperation.

"By harmonizing rules of origin and reducing transaction costs, RCEP enhances the resilience of global and regional supply chains," said Kao.

Hosted by the Guangxi government, the dialogue was held on the sidelines of the 21st China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning.

RCEP is a free trade agreement comprising 15 Asia-Pacific countries, making it the largest trade bloc in history.

Kao said that with both RCEP and China-ASEAN free trade area 3.0 in place, he is confident that trade and investment between ASEAN, China and other RCEP partners will continue to flourish and expand. The ASEAN secretary-general was speaking under the theme Collaboratively Promoting the Upgrade of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and Sharing the Benefits of Regional Economic Integration under RCEP.

Li Fei, Chinese vice-minister of commerce, said the synergy between RCEP and the China-ASEAN free trade area injected strong impetus into regional integration and the growth of global trade and investment.

China will continue to collaborate with all other RCEP members to jointly promote the high-quality regional implementation of free trade, deepen cooperation in various fields and accelerate the building of the China-ASEAN free trade area 3.0 for shared opportunities and a new future for regional cooperation, said Li.

The RCEP Regional Industrial Supply Chain Alliance Charter was also announced during the event.

Manothong Vongsay, vice-minister of industry and commerce of Laos, said the charter represents a key initiative to bolster cooperation in sectors vital to economic ecosystems.

"In an era where supply chain disruptions and global uncertainties are increasingly common, this alliance will play a crucial role in ensuring the stability and sustainability of our region's economic activities," said Manothong Vongsay.