Leaders of 15 countries said last week that they are committed to signing a major Asia Pacific trade pact early next year to bring their countries into a mega trading bloc that will cover a third of the world’s gross domestic product.
Chinese vice minister of commerce, Wang Shouwen, said the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be a “very significant boost” to investor confidence in the global economy against the rise of unilateralism and protectionism that has depressed trade growth across the world.
Wang said the deal would also greatly benefit Chinese firms, workers and consumers, as it would remove tariffs and non-tariff barriers, and bring down costs.
The fact that 15 countries, including China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, are coming together to seal the deal on RCEP suggests nations in this region share a belief in furthering globalization, said a commentary published by the Beijing News.
“We are about to cross into a new era of major changes to global trade,” wrote the author Zhong Feiteng, an international relations scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
As global value chains are becoming a dominant feature of world trade, encompassing developing, emerging and developed economies, it is imperative that countries and industry leaders adapt to a growing network of international production sharing.
The good news is, Zhong said, RCEP will be a new type of trade framework to promote inclusiveness and mutual benefit, where underdeveloped countries in the region such as Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia will be allowed exceptions to the general provisions of the deal.
“RCEP will be a milestone event. Some countries are walking through the gateway to an era of new trade policies, while some other countries are staying outside the door,” said Zhong. “We will continue to face the challenge of reinventing multilateralism to suit the needs of every country.”
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