Multilateralism in action

[Photo by Li Min/China Daily]

By Kostas Gouliamos

The RCEP is the world's biggest trade deal and expresses the region's confidence in free trade practices over protectionism

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement that came into effect on Jan 1 encompasses several areas of cooperation, including tariff concessions, which will eliminate 90 percent of tariffs on goods traded among the RCEP members in about 10 years.

This is the world's biggest trading fulcrum and the most significant outcome of East Asian economic integration in the past two decades, elevating the position of the Asia-Pacific region in the global development landscape.

Initiated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2012, there were 31 rounds of negotiations before the deal was concluded. At a time when the world is undergoing profound changes, the RCEP is expected to further strengthen and extend the Asia-Pacific region's position in the global landscape. In fact, the RCEP will be a new center of gravity for global trade and geopolitics. It is a landmark deal, ratified by 15 members comprising East Asian and Pacific nations of different economic sizes and in different stages of development, covering $26.2 trillion in GDP-approximately one-third of the world's GDP and one-third of the world's total trade volume-and encompassing 2.3 billion people.

Being China's first multilateral trade deal and the first trade agreement among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the RCEP affirms China, East Asia and ASEAN's role in supporting the multilateral trade system by intensifying regional economic integration. It will also simultaneously boost the post-pandemic global economic recovery.

To a great degree, the RCEP represents the victory of multilateralism over unilateralism and free trade over protectionism. President Xi Jinping emphasized in his 2022 New Year Address that "only through unity, solidarity and cooperation can countries around the world write a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for mankind". The RCEP embodies that vision of connectivity and multilateralism. China upholds true multilateralism, not selective multilateralism, and it urges countries to oppose unilateralism and confrontation.

The mega trade platform of the RCEP corresponds with China's powerful vision of "common prosperity". It is a vision that has deep roots in President Xi's inspiring thought on a community of shared future for mankind and, accordingly, corresponds to China's governance model of socialist consultative democracy in the new era. It is no coincidence that President Xi, in his remarks to the Global Trade in Services Summit of the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services, underscored, "We will work with all other parties to uphold openness, cooperation and mutual benefit, share opportunities in the growth of services trade, and promote world economic recovery and growth."

Furthermore, while the mega deal reinforces the economic interdependence of Asia, it must also be admitted that the RCEP represents a substantial framework for China to promote both its mature economic capabilities and its sophisticated geopolitical abilities at an unprecedented speed globally.

By far the region's largest economy, China has already shown solid results in leveling international opportunities for social advancement and reducing social inequalities. Besides, the synchronization of regional supply chains and competences will increase the region's appeal for outside investment, thus strengthening China's resilience to trade tensions while bringing the region closer to China's economy.

The RCEP can boost regional industrial synergies and, concurrently, harmonize regional trade and economic rules by facilitating-among other things-customs with the application of new technologies. Moreover, the entry into force of the RCEP reinforces the region's trade resilience. With a massive population, the RCEP will boost trade growth and the region's economic recovery.

China has undoubtedly played a prominent role in bolstering regional trade and growth and pushing forward the establishment of the RCEP. China should be perceived worldwide as a model of harmonious modernization whose innovative and green development path is characterized by both its emphasis on multilateralism and its strong contribution to building a community of shared future for mankind through mutual and peaceful cooperation.

The author is former rector of European University Cyprus and ordinary member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.