China completes preparations to meet its RCEP obligations

China will be able to fully meet its obligations when the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement comes into effect at the start of next year, according to Yu Benlin, Director General of the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs. The Ministry confirmed last week that six member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and four non-ASEAN countries – China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia – had formally submitted their RCEP ratifications to ASEAN’s Secretariat, meeting the conditions for the deal to come into force in those 10 countries at the start of next year. Yu said the RCEP – the world’s biggest trade pact by GDP – is designed to remove as much as 90% of tariffs on goods traded between signatories within a decade of coming into effect.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and other government agencies have completed preparations for the implementation of all 701 binding obligations involving China under the RCEP, Yu added. A total of 166,000 Chinese entrepreneurs, trade and customs officials, and related personnel have completed RCEP training in over 600 training sessions and online training courses. The RCEP will further stabilize industrial and supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region when it comes into effect, ensure free trade and regional connectivity, and contribute to the world’s economic recovery, said Dang Yingjie, Deputy Director General of the National Office of Port Administration at the General Administration of Customs. China’s foreign trade volume with other RCEP participants surged 19.3% year-on-year in the first three quarters of this year.

The RCEP was officially signed on November 15 last year. Its 15 member countries have a total population of 2.27 billion and a total GDP of USD26 trillion. Their combined exports reach USD5.2 trillion, accounting for around 30% of the world’s total economic output, the China Daily reports.