Chi Fulin: Seize the opportunity of RCEP entry into force To achieve a major breakthrough in the Negotiations on the China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area at an early date

Haikou, January 17 (China News Network) -- The 8th China-Japan-ROK Cooperation Dialogue with the theme of "China-Japan-ROK Cooperation in the Post-epidemic Era" was held in Haikou on January 17. Chi Fulin, president of the China (Hainan) Reform and Development Research Institute, suggested that we should seize the opportunity of the official entry into force of the RCEP and strive to achieve a major breakthrough in the negotiations on the China-Japan-ROK free trade area.

"The entry into force of the RCEP provides important conditions for the construction of the China-Japan-ROK FTA." Chi Fulin pointed out that the RCEP is not only the first free trade agreement between China, Japan and South Korea, but also lays an important foundation for the construction of the China-Japan-Rok free trade area in terms of tariff concessions, market access, and regional supply chain adjustments. The entry into force of the RCEP agreement has led to a significant reduction in trade and investment barriers between China, Japan and the REPUBLIC OF Korea, and has also promoted the further integration of industrial chains, supply chains and value chains between the three countries through more flexible rules of origin accumulation.

In 2020, the GDP of China, Japan and South Korea accounted for 82.44% of the GDP in the RCEP region. It can be said that the economic and trade cooperation between China, Japan and the ROK has a significant impact on the implementation of RCEP. "Striving to achieve a breakthrough in the construction of the China-Japan-ROK free trade area and accelerating the formation of a higher level and a wider trilateral cooperation mechanism will not only help consolidate the achievements of RCEP cooperation, but also promote the formation of a new pattern of regional economic integration." Chi Fulin said.

Chi Fulin said that China promotes a high level of opening up focusing on trade in services, broadening the market space for China-Japan-ROK economic and trade cooperation, and it is expected that China's service imports will continue to grow rapidly after the epidemic, especially services such as travel, medical and health, intellectual property rights, telecommunications, and financial insurance will become the focus of imports. At the same time, China's promotion of institutional opening up will provide important conditions for high-level economic and trade cooperation between China, Japan and the ROK.

He suggested that after the RCEP takes effect, China, Japan and the ROK should make good use of tariff reduction measures and investment facilitation arrangements, strive to shorten the transition period of tariff concessions, and promote the circulation of goods and factors. Make full use of more flexible rules of origin, focus on equipment manufacturing, intelligent manufacturing, etc., and promote the construction of a more resilient and dynamic manufacturing, industrial chain and supply chain under the framework of RCEP. Promote China's "Belt and Road" initiative, Japan's "High-quality Infrastructure Partnership Program" and South Korea's "New Southern Policy" to actively dock within the framework of RCEP.

Chi Fulin believes that basing on RCEP, promoting high-level pragmatic cooperation in specific fields, and releasing the positive effect of mutual promotion between "small multilateralism" between China, Japan and south Korea and "large multilateralism" of RCEP will not only benefit the three countries of China, Japan and South Korea, but also have an important impact on regional economic and trade cooperation under the framework of RCEP. (End)

Source: China News Network