What’s RECP ?
What’s RECP? “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” (RCEP) was initiated by ASEAN in 2012 and lasted for eight years. Its members include China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the ten ASEAN countries.
On November 15, 2020, the signing ceremony of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was carried out in a video mode. The economic and trade ministers of 15 RCEP member countries will formally sign the agreement at the ceremony .
It marks the official start of the free trade zone with the largest population, the largest economic and trade scale, and the most development potential in the world.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement(RCEP) Multilateral By Signed by 15 members on November 15, 2020
Table of Contents
- Introduction to the Agreement
- Agreement member
- Negotiation
- Agreement meaning
- Social evaluation
1. Introduction to the Agreementedit
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is the largest and most important free trade agreement negotiation in the Asia-Pacific region . After being reached, it will cover nearly half of the world’s population and nearly one-third of the world’s trade volume, making it the world’s largest population and the most diverse membership. Develop the most dynamic free trade zone.
2. Agreement memberedit
The members of the “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” include 10 ASEAN countries , China , Japan , South Korea , India , Australia, and New Zealand .
3. Negotiatione
Initiated by ASEAN in 2012, it is an agreement made by 16 parties including 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. Since the official start in 2013, until November 2019, 3 leaders’ meetings, 19 ministerial meetings, and 28 rounds of formal negotiations have been held.
On July 17-28, 2017, the 19th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) was held in Hyderabad, India. All parties continue to conduct in-depth consultations on goods, services, investment and regulations.
From April 28 to May 8, 2018, the 22nd round of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was held in Singapore .
At the same time as the plenary meeting, goods, services, investment, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, trade remedies , finance, telecommunications, intellectual property , e-commerce , Working group meetings were held in parallel in areas such as legal mechanisms and government procurement.
In accordance with the instructions of the first RCEP leaders’ meeting in November 2017 and the ministerial meeting on March 3, 2018, the parties continued to conduct in-depth consultations on issues in the fields of goods, services, investment and regulations, and the negotiations made positive progress. The meeting emphasized that all parties will work together and make pragmatic breakthroughs in accordance with the “RCEP Negotiation Guidelines” to promote the early conclusion of negotiations.
From June 30 to July 1, 2018, the 5th Inter-Ministerial Meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was held in Tokyo, Japan. The economic and trade ministers or representatives of 16 parties including 10 ASEAN countries, China, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand attended the meeting. Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy Representative of International Trade Negotiation Wang Shouwen attended the meeting on behalf of Minister Zhong Shan. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the General Administration of Customs sent personnel to participate in the meeting.
On November 13, 2018, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who was visiting Singapore, expressed his hope that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) will be signed and effective in 2019. The agreement will bring tangibility to the people of the region. The benefits.
The second “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” Leaders’ Meeting
The second “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” Leaders’ Meeting
On November 14, 2018, Premier Li Keqiang attended the second “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” (RCEP) leaders’ meeting at the Singapore Convention and Exhibition Center. The leaders of the ten ASEAN countries as well as the leaders of South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India attended the meeting.
On July 22-31, 2019, the 27th round of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was held in Zhengzhou, Henan. About 700 representatives from the 16 RCEP parties including the ten ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India participated in the negotiation. Relevant working group meetings on trade in goods, trade in services, investment, rules of origin, trade remedies, intellectual property rights, e-commerce, laws and mechanisms were held.
On September 8, 2019, the 7th Ministerial Conference of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was held in Bangkok, Thailand. The economic and trade ministers or representatives of the 10 ASEAN countries and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India attended the meeting.
On November 4, 2019, the third “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” leaders’ meeting concluded in Bangkok, Thailand. After the meeting, RCEP leaders issued a joint statement. The statement stated that 15 of the 16 RCEP countries have completed all 20 chapters and almost all textual negotiations on market access systems.
The next step will be a legal review to allow the agreement to be officially signed in 2020. India still has many unresolved issues, and RCEP will work together to resolve these issues in a manner that is satisfactory to all parties.
On July 5, 2020, the Indian news website “The Print” quoted a high-level government source as saying that India has decided not to consider joining any China-led trade agreements, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).
On November 15, 2020, the 4th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Leaders’ Meeting was held in video format. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, the rotating chairman of ASEAN. The ten ASEAN countries and 15 countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand have formally signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), marking the official conclusion of the world’s largest free trade agreement. The signing of the RCEP is an important step for regional countries to take concrete actions to safeguard the multilateral trading system and build an open world economy. It is of symbolic significance for deepening regional economic integration and stabilizing the global economy.
4. Agreement meaning
On November 6, 2019, Deputy Minister of Commerce and Deputy International Trade Representative Wang Shouwen stated that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is a comprehensive, modern, high-quality, mutually beneficial free trade agreement.
The “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement” (RCEP) covers a population of more than 3.5 billion, accounting for 47.4% of the world, gross domestic product accounting for 32.2% of the world, and total foreign trade accounting for 29.1% of the world. It is the world’s most populous and most potential free trade District negotiations. Once reached, it will further promote the integration of industries and value chains in the region, and inject strong impetus into regional economic integration.
According to 2018 data, the population of the 15 RCEP member countries that have concluded negotiations as a whole reached 2.2 billion, GDP reached 29 trillion US dollars, exports reached 5.6 trillion US dollars, and attracted foreign investment flows of 370 billion US dollars, basically accounting for the global total. About 30% of the amount.
After RCEP15 is completed, it will be the largest free trade zone in the world. If India joins after solving related issues, the scale will be further expanded. Completing the RCEP negotiations is conducive to sending out messages dedicated to building an open world economy and supporting the multilateral trading system, improving the environment for regional trade and investment, advancing the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, helping countries better meet challenges and strengthening the region The potential for future development will benefit the people of all countries in this region.
Social evaluation
Wang Shouwen, Deputy Minister of Commerce and Deputy Representative for International Trade Negotiations: It is a mutually beneficial free trade agreement, which is reflected in the areas of trade in goods, service trade, investment and regulations. It must reflect a balance.
In particular, the agreement also stipulates some regulations such as economic and technical cooperation. For the least developed countries such as Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, some transitional arrangements are given to them so that they can better integrate into the regional economy. Integration.