RCEP Boosts Trade Momentum Between China and ASEAN

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has been a game-changer for economic collaboration in Asia since its implementation over two years ago. The partnership has unlocked significant potential for regional trade, offering new market opportunities for enterprises in the Chinese mainland and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In the first half of this year, total trade within the RCEP region remained robust, reaching an impressive $2.8 trillion. Notably, trade between the Chinese mainland and ASEAN played a significant role, with China recording $955.04 billion and ASEAN countries (excluding Myanmar, Laos, and Brunei) reaching $1 trillion in intra-regional trade. Together, they accounted for 70 percent of the total trade within the RCEP region.

Trade between the Chinese mainland and RCEP partners surged in sectors such as integrated circuits, automatic data processing equipment, flat panel display modules, petroleum products, electric vehicles, textiles, and furniture. Meanwhile, ASEAN witnessed rapid growth in trading goods like electronic products, machinery, steel products, aluminum and aluminum products, ships, grains, edible fruits, and nuts within the RCEP region.

Expanding Market Opportunities

The expanding RCEP market is providing extensive development opportunities for enterprises in both the Chinese mainland and ASEAN. Businesses are capitalizing on the favorable trade environment to deepen economic ties and explore new avenues for growth.

Strengthening Economic Ties

Under the RCEP framework, economic and trade relations between the Chinese mainland and ASEAN have reached new heights. In the first eight months of this year, total goods trade between the two reached $633.48 billion, up 7.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for 15.7 percent of China’s total foreign trade. This growth rate outpaces China’s overall foreign trade by 4 percentage points. Additionally, cumulative bidirectional investment between China and ASEAN countries exceeded $400 billion as of July this year.

New Growth Drivers

The development of new quality productive forces in the Chinese mainland has introduced fresh growth opportunities for both sides. Building on the e-commerce chapter of the RCEP, China and ASEAN have incorporated elements related to the digital and green economies in negotiations for the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) 3.0.

As the implementation of RCEP progresses and the construction of China-ASEAN FTA 3.0 advances, China and ASEAN are poised to expand cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, the digital and marine economies, and low-carbon transformation. This collaborative effort is expected to foster new economic growth drivers for both sides.

Looking Ahead

The synergistic implementation of RCEP and the China-ASEAN FTA is anticipated to drive continuous expansion of bilateral trade and investment, deepen integration of production and supply chains, and enhance collaboration in emerging industries. This will consolidate and elevate China-ASEAN economic and trade relations in both quantity and quality, laying a solid foundation for building a closer and more inclusive China-ASEAN community.