Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang (Photo: mofcom.gov.cn) Beijing (VNA) - The Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) is expected to be signed at the 4th RCEP leaders'online meeting on November 15, with all of its texts and legal review workcompleted, Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang told a pressconference on November 11.
Once signed, the agreement will be one of the most vitalachievements in the integration of Asia-Pacific economies over the past twodecades, helping the region to realise high-level market opening-up and forminga relatively unified economic and trade system, Li said.
Initiated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) in 2012, the RCEP is the largest free trade agreement worldwide, with15 members covering 47.4 percent of the world's population, about one-third ofglobal GDP, 29.1 percent of world trade, and 32.5 percent of global investment.
The signing of the RCEP will give a boost to regionaleconomic growth, as the pact is expected to be a driver of the post-COVID-19 recoveryof member economies and of Asia-Pacific cooperation, said Su Ge, chairman ofthe Beijing-based China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation.
The removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers alone underthe partnership would increase the Asia-Pacific region's GDP by 2.1 percent andworld GDP by 1.4 percent, according to estimates./.
VNA
