On June 2, the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) officially entered into force for the Philippines, marking the full entry into force of RCEP for the 15 signatories. In response to the concerns of the media and the public, the person in charge of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce answered questions from reporters.
Q: What is the significance of RCEP's full entry into force for all 15 signatories?
A: On November 15, 2020, the 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand signed the RCEP, and promoted the agreement to come into force on January 1, 2022. On June 2, 2023, RCEP will come into force for the Philippines. So far, the agreement has come into full effect for the 15 signatories. The total population, total GDP, and value of trade in goods in the RCEP region account for about 30% of the world's total. The full effect of the agreement on the 15 parties marks the entry into a new stage of full implementation of the free trade area with the largest population, largest economic and trade scale, and greatest development potential in the world. .
The full entry into force of RCEP fully demonstrates that the 15 parties have taken practical actions to support an open, free, fair, inclusive and rules-based multilateral trading system, and are committed to continuously promoting a comprehensive, mutually beneficial and high-level economic partnership. The 15-party commitment to open goods, services, and investment markets, superimposed with high-level rules in various fields, will greatly promote the free flow of production factors such as raw materials, products, technologies, talents, capital, information, and data in the region, and promote the gradual formation of a more prosperous The large market of regional integration promotes wider, higher-level and deeper open cooperation among member states.
The full entry into force of RCEP will provide a strong boost to my country's high-level opening up. The full entry into force of RCEP has created more favorable conditions for the expansion of trade in goods between my country and members, and will also drive the opening up of corresponding service trade and investment, and promote trade facilitation and the improvement of the business environment. Continuing to promote the high-quality implementation of RCEP will help further promote the integrated development of regional industrial and supply chains, help localities, industries and enterprises expand new space for international economic and trade cooperation, and help promote the realization of a higher level of institutional opening from a higher starting point.
Q: Since RCEP came into effect on January 1, 2022, what positive results has it achieved in promoting the development of regional trade and investment?
A: Thanks to the joint efforts of all parties, RCEP has achieved preliminary results since its implementation. The trade in goods among the members has become closer, and intra-regional trade has become a key force for stabilizing and stimulating the growth of foreign trade of the members. At the same time, benefiting from the positive signals released by the effective implementation of RCEP, this region continues to become a hotspot for global investment. Most members' utilization of foreign capital shows a positive upward trend, and the region as a whole attracts strong growth in greenfield investment.
The implementation of RCEP has played an important role in stabilizing my country's foreign trade and foreign investment. From the perspective of trade, in 2022, the total import and export volume between my country and other RCEP members will be 12.95 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%, accounting for 30.8% of my country's total foreign trade import and export. From January to April 2023, the total import and export volume between my country and other RCEP members was 4.12 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%, accounting for 30.9% of my country's total foreign trade import and export. From the perspective of attracting foreign capital, in 2022, my country's actual investment from other RCEP members will be US$23.53 billion, a year-on-year increase of 23.1%. From January to April 2023, my country actually utilized nearly US$8.9 billion in investment from other RCEP members, a year-on-year increase of more than 13.7%.
RCEP has brought real dividends and benefits to the vast number of enterprises in our country. RCEP is superimposed on the bilateral free trade agreements that have taken effect between my country and other RCEP members, creating good conditions for enterprises to enjoy better benefits and helping enterprises reduce trade costs. In 2022, under RCEP, Chinese enterprises can enjoy export value of 235.3 billion yuan, and can enjoy tariff reduction of 1.58 billion yuan from the importing country; enjoy import value of 65.3 billion yuan, and tax reduction of 1.55 billion yuan. In the first quarter of 2023, Chinese enterprises enjoy export value of 62.29 billion yuan under RCEP, and can enjoy tariff reduction of 930 million yuan from the importing country; enjoy import value of 18.25 billion yuan, and tax reduction of 480 million yuan.
Question: What innovative measures and achievements have been made by various localities in the process of actively connecting with RCEP?
Answer: Since RCEP came into effect, various localities have actively strengthened policy docking, optimized the business environment, strengthened economic and trade cooperation with RCEP members, effectively improved support and service levels for enterprises, and helped enterprises seize the opportunities of the agreement, forming many fruitful practical measures. and innovative practices.