Aerial photo shows container ships at the Qianwan Container Terminal in Qingdao port, east China's Shandong province. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By WANG Xiaoxia

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has achieved impressive results since its operation this year, and will continue to inject strong impetus to the regional and global economic recovery, according to the recent RCEP forum.

The 2022 High-Level Forum for RCEP Economic and Trade Cooperation opened in Qingdao on July 28. The forum, focusing on the wider implementation of RCEP, discussed issues such as deepening trade and investment cooperation, and strengthening the collaboration of industrial chains and supply chains.

RCEP agreement, the world's largest trade deal to date, covers roughly 30 percent of the world's GDP, population and trade volume, became effective on January 1.

With wider implementation of the agreement, rapid growth of trade among member states has been witnessed in the first half of this year. According to the latest statistics from China Customs, the trade between China and other RCEP members increased by 5.6 percent year-on-year.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and its branches at all levels have issued 56,800 RCEP certificates of origin, said Zhang Shaogang, vice chairman of CCPIT. 

Certificates of origin (COs) are legal documents that accompany goods moving across borders, certifying the country of origin of the goods, and enabling governments, customs authorities, importers, and exporters to track the movement of goods.

With COs, businesses between RCEP members can enjoy preferential tariffs. In the first half of 2022, the value of trade that CCPIT issued COs for has exceeded 2.7 billion USD, and it is estimated to help reduce tariffs for enterprises by more than 40 million USD, said Zhang.

Practice has proved that RCEP is bringing more trade growth opportunities to relevant countries, which will help offset the negative impact of COVID-19, and promote regional and global economic recovery, according to participants of the RCEP forum.

This agreement will help reduce the cost of imports and reduce the risk of uncertainties. By reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers, the economic relationship of the RCEP members will be further strengthened, said Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, Malaysian Prime Minister's special envoy to China.

The agreement will contribute to post-pandemic economic growth, strengthen intra-regional trade and investment links at a time of global trade tensions, and provide a framework for further regional cooperation, said Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China.

Chatterjee pointed out that the spillover effects of RCEP have the potential to benefit both participating and non-participating states, with the shift of world economic center to the Asia-Pacific region.