Businesses must participate proactively to fully reap the benefits from the trade deal, forum hears

Fang Qiuchen, chairman of China International Contractors Association, inserts CHINCA tablet into a row that features bamboo pages of an ancient Chinese book in a ceremony to launch the Nanning Initiative on furthering RCEP implementation by the business community for higher level regional economic integration in Nanning on Sept 16. Nearly half of about 40 participating industrial and commercial associations of RCEP economies attended the ceremony. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The business community needs to play a bigger role in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, to ensure benefits from high-quality implementation of the world’s biggest free trade pact, a forum heard on Sept 16.

“The RCEP agreement would only be able to deliver its promised gains if businesses and economic operators utilize the agreement,” ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi told an audience of industry leaders, business executives and government officials from the Asia-Pacific region.

Lim said the benefits of the RCEP go much beyond tariffs as it covers streamlined rules and disciplines, as well as mechanisms for transparency and technical consultations.

Gao Yunlong, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, echoed those views, saying: “Businesses are an important force for carrying out the RCEP. Their active participation is the key to the high-quality implementation of the RCEP.”

Lim and Gao were speaking at the 2nd RCEP Economic and Trade Cooperation Business Summit and Furthering RCEP Implementation Forum, which was held on the sidelines of the 19th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The RCEP which entered into force this year, comprises the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, and five major trading partners — China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Gao, who is also chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said the free trade pact has brought tangible benefits.

For example, in the first seven months of this year, China’s trade with other RCEP members rose 7.5 percent year-on-year, accounting 30 percent of the nation’s total foreign trade.

In a welcome speech, Liu Ning, Party chief of Guangxi, said the entry into force of the RCEP was a concrete move to implement the Global Development Initiative and promote sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.

ASEAN Secretary-General Lim said the connectivity provided by RCEP will attract investment companies based in non-RCEP countries.

The agreement also includes elements which support businesses, particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, to expand their markets in the region.

People gather at the CAFTA & RCEP Gallery at the China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning on Sept 18. (HUANG XIAOBANG / XINHUA)

Members of the RCEP represent around 30 percent of the global GDP, 28 percent of the global trade, and 32.5 percent of the global investment, said Chhuon Dara, secretary of state of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia, the chair of the ten-nation ASEAN bloc this year.

RCEP is not just a free trade agreement, but also a driver of regional economic recovery from the pandemic and an effective instrument for strengthening economy and trade, said Chhuon.

Clare Fearnley, New Zealand’s ambassador to China, said the reduction and removal of tariffs, new investment possibilities and new markets are important elements of the RCEP for all members.

“For New Zealand, we also see the areas of services as where big gains will be made, as well as through addressing non-tariff barriers,” said Fearnley, adding that his country looks forward to continued close cooperation with China and other RCEP members.

Li Yanqiang, president of the Beibu Gulf Port Group, said the RCEP had caused logistics demand to increase drastically, making the port more open and prosperous.

Between January and August, Beibu Gulf Port, located in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, handled over 189,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers to RCEP countries, a year-on-year increase of 35 percent, said Li.

The summit also witnessed the launch of a Nanning Initiative on high-quality RCEP implementation for higher level regional economic integration by about 40 chambers of commerce and industrial associations from RCEP member economies, including the China International Contractors Association, and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products.

The Nanning Initiative serves to advance the implementation of RCEP for higher level regional economic integration.

Earlier, the China-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Enhancing Program was launched by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, as officials from countries in the region gathered for another forum on Sept 15.

“China has always viewed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a preferred partner in terms of international cooperation on science, technology and innovation,” Wang Zhigang, China’s minister for science and technology, said at the opening of the 10th Forum on China-ASEAN Technology Transfer and Collaborative Innovation.

Wang cited the ministry’s Talented Young Scientist Program, which has brought 145 researchers from ASEAN countries to China to undertake yearlong research.

Wang said China is willing to work with ASEAN countries to promote science and technological cooperation and build a closer partnership of science, technology and innovation for the future.

The two sides should further deepen cultural and educational exchanges in the science and technology sector, enhance cooperation in technology transfer, and expand cooperation in research and development, Wang said.

Visitors buy products from Singapore during the China-ASEAN Expo on Sept 19. (LU BOAN / XINHUA)

Also launched during the event was the China-ASEAN Technology Transfer Special Initiative, which selected some 1,000 industries and technologies suitable for ASEAN countries’ socioeconomic development.

Lim, the ASEAN Secretary-General, said China and ASEAN can explore areas of cooperation to further develop medical technologies, including surgical robotics, drug manufacturing and the application of advanced technology in healthcare development.

“As we mark the first year of the establishment of the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership, I look forward to advancing our vision for innovative and sustainable growth, notably in the areas of trade, digital technology, public health and sustainable development,” said Lim.

Adham Baba, the Malaysian minister of science, technology and innovation, said the forum is a testimony of active ASEAN-China cooperation through the ASEAN-China Plan of Action for a Closer Partnership of Science, Technology and Innovation for the Future (2021-25).

Also delivering speeches at the ceremony were officials from Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Expecting the forum to enhance cooperation in the technology and innovation fields, Xu Xianhui, vice-chairman of the Guangxi government, said the autonomous region will further cooperate in the sector with ASEAN countries. Cooperation zones will be established for the free flow of resources, technology, information and talent.

China COSCO Shipping Corp, the country’s largest shipping company by sales revenue, said that it has seen continuous growth in trade volume with ASEAN since the RCEP agreement took effect on Jan 1.

“Shipping is a barometer of trade worldwide. The trade growth between China and ASEAN has been a highlight for us in a time when the global marine supply chain is greatly challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ge He¬yue, deputy general manager of COSCO Shipping Lines Co.

“We have invested huge resources in Southeast Asia. We are confident in the trade growth potential between China and ASEAN against the global economic slowdown,” he said.

Li Muyuan, secretary-general of the Beijing-based China Container Industry Association who has participated in the China-ASEAN Expo multiple times in the past, said that she has a strong feeling this year that delegates from ASEAN member states are exceptionally enthusiastic and confident in the business potential brought by the RCEP.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp said that since the RCEP took effect, there are promising prospects for Chinese and Japanese companies to continue to explore third-party cooperation.

For instance, if it were possible to combine the digital and smart industrial ecology of Chinese companies, Japanese companies’ advantage in industrial chain management and the unique local experience of Southeast Asian enterprises, it would create win-win opportunities for the three sides and further promote industrial chain stability in this region, said Nakatsuka Junichiro, East Asia general delegate of Mitsubishi Corp.

Zhang Li in Nanning contributed to this report.

Contact the writers at kelly@chinadailyapac.com