China-ASEAN Business Communities Think Highly of Prospects of the RCEPP

By Guo Yan

On September 10， the Chi- na-ASEAN Business Leaders Forum and a Special Meeting on the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations was held in Nanning， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Centering on the 30th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations， the forum invited representatives from the business communities of various countries and regions to look forward to the prospects of regional market after the RCEP comes into effect， and to jointly strengthen cooperation in key areas such as the construction of the New International Land-Sea Corridor， and further opening and innovating the financial market， hoping to boost China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation to a new level.

As an important event under the framework of the 18th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit， the forum was held online and offline， themed “Three Decades of Partnership for Mutual Prosperity in A New Era”. The forum attracted about 200 government officials， business representatives， experts and scholars from China and ASEAN countries.

The trade volume between China and the ASEAN grew 85 times in 30 years

The year 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the dialogue between China and the ASEAN. In 30 years， the trade volume between China and the ASEAN has grown 85 times， realizing two-way investment exceeding USD 310 billion in total. Meanwhile， both sides are boosting the construction of the New International Land-Sea Corridor and other interconnection infrastructure， carrying on practical and deepening cooperation on sub-regions including BIMP-EAGA （Brunei Darussalam—Indonesia—Malaysia—Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area）， and Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. In one word， the business community between China and the ASEAN has shared huge dividends and achieved common development.

Gao Yan， Chairperson of the CCPIT （China Council for the Promotion of International Trade）， said in their opening speech that China is willing to continue to build a high quality Belt and Road together with friends from the ASEAN business community， explore business opportunities provided by the New International Land-Sea Corridor and the China （Guangxi） Pilot Free Trade Zone， promote indepth regional economic integration， and make new contributions towards a closer China-ASEAN community for a common future together.

In the last 30 years， the relations and cooperation between China and the ASEAN have deepened， as both sides adhere to the principles of mutual respect and join hands in various fields for common development and prosperity. At the same time， China and the ASEAN have actively carried out regional cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic and promoted post-pandemic economic recovery， setting up a model for international cooperation.

Cambodia has benefited greatly from cooperation with China since Cambodia joined ASEAN， said Kith Meng， President of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. Cambodia and China have proven to be unbreakable partners through difficulties and obstacles. In recent years， cooperation between Cambodia and China in investment， economy and trade has continued to grow steadily， and the bilateral trade volume between the two countries has bucked the trend， reaching USD 9.56 billion in 2020， and in the first six months of 2021 it came to USD 6.11 billion， up 44% year-onyear. In October 2020， Cambodia and China signed a free trade agreement， and as the first bilateral trade free agreement of Cambodia， it brought the bilateral FTA relations between two countries to a new level and will continuously help strengthen the tie of businesses and the well-being of people in both countries.

The forum proposed an Initiative by National Chambers of Commerce and Industry in China and the ASEAN on Enhancing Cooperation on Joint Construction and Sharing of New Land-Sea Corridor （the Initiative for cooperation）， which was welcomed and positively responded to. To boost the construction of the new land-sea corridor and implement the Initiative for cooperation， the forum also held a launching ceremony for digital cross-border supply chain collaboration via the New International LandSea Trade Corridor.

The forum was hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Peoples Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， co-sponsored by National Chambers of Commerce and Industry of 10 ASEAN countries， and organized by the secretariat of China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

The RCEP encourages investment and trade in the Asia-Pacific region

The RCEP is currently the largest FTA in the world， and it will certainly promote trade and investment as well as cooperation in many areas， making it attractive for investors and entrepreneurs.

“Thailand has joined the RCEP， which fully reflects our support to an open， comprehensive， modern and mutually beneficial multilateral trading system. Although it now further strengthens existing economic and trade cooperation， it will inevitably bring a great market in the future，”said Jurin Laksanawisit， Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of Thailand during a video speech，“Therefore， Thailand should maintain close cooperative relations with China， and other RCEP member countries， to together create an open， transparent， fair and stable environment and boost regional economic growth.”

Lim Ming Yan， Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation， said in a video speech， Singapore has signed many bilateral and multilateral FTAs， and as one of the countries that signed and approved the RCEP first， Singapore supports the open and free flow of goods services and people. Singapore has established an electronic original data transaction system， which allows for seamless customs clearance for goods exported to China. He said： “As we continue to deepen cooperation with China， we are very excited to see new opportunities emerging that can bring economic growth and prosperity to all countries.”

According to Benedicto V. Yujuico， president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry， Despite the impact of COVID-19， economic ties between Philippines and China continue to be strengthened， with bilateral trade in goods reaching USD 16.49 billion in the first quarter of 2021， up 34.7% year-on-year， meaning China is still the largest trading partner and most important source of imports for the Philippines， as well as the third largest export market and second largest source of foreign investment. As both are RCEP members， China and the Philippines can further cooperate in innovation， R&D， manufacturing and other areas. Besides， Benedicto V. Yujuico said， Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry fully supports the Initiative for cooperation and will actively encourage enterprises to participate in the construction of the new land-sea corridor.

“I think the RCEP will grow into another Important engine for global economic growth， as we now contribute about 30% of global GDP and this number is expected to grow to 50% in the future. There are great opportunities. Although the RCEP was signed before the pandemic， the pandemic has made it even more important and valuable. Meanwhile， the RCEP will further facilitate the integration of 10+1 FTAs ASEAN has signed， which is also good for the region，” said the chairman of the AmBank Group of Malaysia， Hashim.

According to Supant Mongkolsuthree， Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries （FTI） and president of the Thailand-China Industrial Cooperation Institute （TCICI）， the RCEP will bring more trade opportunities to Thailand， help expand Thailands export market， especially Thailands value chain， as well as boost trade between Thailand and other RCEP member countries with lower tariffs. In addition， the Eastern Economic Corridor and other key projects in Thailand can benefit from the RCEP and attract more foreign investment.

Kenji Shimizu， Director General of the Guangzhou Office of the Japan External Trade Organization （JETRO）， is anticipating the RCEP， too. He believes the agreement will help to further enhance trade and investment relations among member countries through cutting tariffs and applying unified rules. According to the Japanese government， the RCEP will boost Japans GDP by 2.7% in real terms after it has been in effect for a while. In addition to trading goods， the signing of the RCEP is also of great significance in various fields such as trade-in services， investment， intellectual property rights， e-commerce， economic cooperation， and technical cooperation.

Create new strategic anchors for the opening up and development of the southwest and mid-south regions of China

Following President Xi Jinpings important instructions to Guangxi， and focusing the construction of landmark projects like the new land-sea corridor， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is now accelerating the construction of an international corridor to the ASEAN， to create new strategic anchors for the opening and development of the southwest and mid-south regions of China， establishing important hubs along the Belt and Road， and promoting all-round cooperation and development. Guangxi is actively taking part in and exploring new development patterns in China， constructing an open and cooperative environment for ASEAN and the Belt and Road， and an important link for domestic and international economic circulation.

Sun Dawei， Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference（CPPCC）， said， Guangxi is the doorway for China to open up to and cooperate with the ASEAN， leading to growing bilateral trade and deepening cooperation with the ASEAN region. In 2020， the import and export volume of Guangxi to ASEAN countries totaled RMB 237.57 billion， up 1.7% year-on-year， accounting for 48.9% of Guangxis total foreign trade， demonstrating the effect of this new corridor. In 2020， 4，596 sea and railway trains ran along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor， which saw significant growth compared to 2019， and outnumbered the sum of the previous three years. In the first half of this year， the cargo and container throughput Guangxi Beibu Gulf Port increased by 24.1% and 22.3% year-on-year respectively， having top growth of Chinas major coastal ports. According to Sun Dawei， it is of great importance to develop the China-ASEAN intermodal transport alliance to construct a new land-sea corridor between China and the ASEAN countries that will be effective， provide high-quality services and price competitiveness， as well as improve the interconnectivity of railroads， highways， ports， airports， electricity， communication and other infrastructure with ASEAN countries. Another key point would be to strengthen the cooperation on construction of port and shipping infrastructure and route sharing， and promote the development of the port collecting and dispatching system.

Li Muyuan， Executive Vice President and Secretary-general of the China Container Industry Association， believes the new international land and sea corridor is crucial to the development of Guangxi， the west， and even China and ASEAN countries. At the same time， he stressed that the government should focus on infrastructure construction in the future， but not neglect the continued work of perfecting the trade environment. In addition， Guangxi should keep on exploring opportunities in the northern and southern regions of China.