The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) continues to unlock significant potential for economic and trade cooperation in the region, over two years after its implementation. This landmark agreement has opened up numerous market opportunities for businesses in China and ASEAN, fostering stronger economic ties.
In the first half of this year alone, total trade within the RCEP region soared to $2.8 trillion. China and ASEAN were at the forefront, with intra-regional trade volumes reaching $955.04 billion and $1 trillion (excluding Myanmar, Laos, and Brunei) respectively. Together, they accounted for 70% of the total trade within the RCEP region.
China's trade with RCEP partners saw remarkable growth in sectors such as integrated circuits, automatic data processing equipment, flat panel display modules, petroleum products, electric vehicles, textiles, and furniture. Meanwhile, ASEAN experienced rapid expansion in trading goods like electronic products, machinery, steel and aluminum products, ships, grains, edible fruits, and nuts. The expanding RCEP market provides extensive development opportunities for enterprises on both sides.
With the implementation of RCEP, China-ASEAN economic and trade relations have deepened significantly. In the first eight months of this year, total goods trade between China and ASEAN reached $633.48 billion, marking a 7.8% year-on-year increase and constituting 15.7% of China's total foreign trade. This growth rate outpaced China's overall foreign trade by 4 percentage points. Additionally, as of July, cumulative bidirectional investment between China and ASEAN countries surpassed $400 billion.
China's efforts to develop new quality productive forces have introduced new growth opportunities and momentum for both sides. RCEP includes an e-commerce chapter, which China and ASEAN have built upon by incorporating elements related to the digital and green economies into the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) 3.0 negotiations. As RCEP implementation progresses and FTA 3.0 construction moves forward, broader cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, digital and marine economies, and low-carbon transformation is expected. This collaboration aims to foster new economic growth drivers for both regions.
The combined effect of RCEP and the China-ASEAN FTA will drive the continuous expansion of bilateral trade and investment, deeper integration of production and supply chains, and further collaboration in emerging industries. This synergy will enhance China-ASEAN economic and trade relations in both quantity and quality, laying a strong foundation for building a closer and more inclusive China-ASEAN community.
Reference(s):
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