The RCEP will stimulate openness.

Photo by Shi Yu / China Daily

The new guidelines promote the optimized implementation of the latest trade agreements.

Officials and experts said Wednesday that the high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in China will provide stronger impetus for Chinese enterprises to expand international economic and trade cooperation, thereby contributing further to the recovery of both the regional and global economies.

They stated that, with the high-level liberalization and trade‑and‑investment facilitation brought about by free trade agreements, China is poised to advance deeper reforms through a higher‑level opening-up, thereby fostering high‑quality development.

China on Wednesday unveiled new guidelines to promote the high-quality implementation of the trade agreement, which was signed in 2020 by 15 Asia-Pacific economies and entered into force on January 1.

The guiding opinions call for the full implementation of market-opening commitments and the enforcement of agreed-upon rules. According to an online statement by the Ministry of Commerce, they are intended to help local governments, industries, and enterprises adapt to a more open and fiercely competitive regional market, thereby promoting high-quality economic development.

The Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and three other government departments, jointly issued guiding opinions.

“China is already the world’s second-largest economy and must place greater emphasis on the quality of development, pursuing economic growth driven by innovation and underpinned by high technology,” said Zhou Xuezhi, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“We must proactively align domestic regulations with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and promote reform and a shift in our mindset,” Zhou said.

Luo Junjie, Director-General of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that the implementation of the RCEP agreement will provide significant opportunities for China’s manufacturing sector to move up the value chain.

Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the China Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, stated that the guideline will help create a more favorable policy environment for Chinese enterprises to fully leverage RCEP rules and expand their influence in regional trade and investment.

“These guidelines will help businesses, particularly those in the central and western regions, allocate resources more effectively and strengthen the resilience of their industrial and supply chains,” Zhou said.

“High-end demand in overseas markets will also encourage Chinese companies to refine their products and services, ultimately driving the overall upgrading of China’s industrial sector.”

According to the guiding opinions, China will adopt a series of measures to implement 30 key tasks and fully leverage the role of treaty provisions.

The measures include encouraging enterprises to leverage tariff reductions to expand exports in which China enjoys a comparative advantage, while increasing imports of critical technologies, components, and raw materials.

Strengthen legislation and law enforcement for intellectual property protection, intensify research and development of critical products and core technologies, and encourage the central, western, and northeastern regions to further accelerate industrial relocation.

Yu Benlin, Director-General of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce, encouraged Chinese enterprises to make full use of the rules of origin accumulation in goods trade and to proactively seize the market opportunities arising from the liberalization of services and investment within the region.

China’s leading B2B cross-border e-commerce marketplace, DHgate, has expressed its appreciation for the decision to expand training programs for small, medium, and micro enterprises to enhance their understanding of RCEP rules. The company noted that the majority of suppliers on its platform are SMEs that stand to benefit from such support.

(From ChinaDaily)