Home > China-Thailand Relations
Share the New Opportunities of the RCEP Toward a New Chapter of Opening Up and Cooperation
By Ambassador Han Zhiqiang
2022-01-07 17:00

On 1 January 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP) jointly signed by 15 countries, including China and the ASEAN Member States, entered into force officially. A free trade zone with the greatest economic scale, largest participating population, most diverse structure and biggest development potential in the world was established. The entry into force of the RCEP as scheduled will inject new impetus into the recovery and development of the regional and world economy and create new opportunities for China-ASEAN and China-Thailand economic and trade cooperation.

In recent years, multilateralism and economic globalization have encountered “headwinds”. The “withdrawals” and “flip-flops” of the United States have led to a myriad of chaos in international relations. With the cumulative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is confronted with sluggish economic recovery, fluctuating international trade and investment, and severely affected global supply chains. At this critical juncture, China and countries of the region, overcoming one obstacle after another with solidarity and cooperation, have successfully realized the first integration and upgrading of the regional trade and investment rules. The implementation of a comprehensive, modern, high-quality and mutually beneficial agreement demonstrates to the world the right and just path of multilateralism and free trade and injects a “booster” into the very uncertain global economy.

As the first approvers of the RCEP, China and ASEAN have always joined hands in spearheading the completion of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, promoting high-quality Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation, steering the correct direction of East Asian economic integration and enhancing regional development and prosperity. Not long ago, President Xi Jinping and leaders of the ASEAN countries jointly attended the Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations and announced the establishment of a China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, laying a new milestone for the development of the bilateral relationship. The joint statement of the Summit welcomes the entry into force of the RCEP and stresses that China and ASEAN countries will “work together for the effective implementation of the RCEP Agreement, to deliver benefits to businesses and people in the region”. With the deepening of post-pandemic recovery cooperation of the two sides, the RCEP will further reinforce the level of complementary advantages between China and ASEAN countries, optimize the regional business and investment environment, promote the deep integration of the regional industrial chain, supply chain and value chain, drive the growth of overall regional economic and trade investment, and bring tangible benefits to the people of China and ASEAN countries.

Both China and Thailand are firm advocates of free trade and active supporters of regional cooperation. The opportunities for regional economic integration promoted by the RCEP will bolster the scale and quality of China-Thailand economic and trade cooperation to a new level. China has become Thailand’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years. In 2021, the bilateral trade overcame the impact of the pandemic and exceeded the US$100 billion mark. Chinese enterprises in the fields of e-commerce, communications, automobiles and photovoltaics have successively invested and set up factories in Thailand. Thai agricultural produce, rubber and electronic products are welcome in the Chinese market. After the RCEP comes into force, China and Thailand will further open the markets of fishery products, papermaking, auto parts and metals, and more than 90 percent of trade in goods will eventually realize zero tariff. The negative-list styled high-quality commitments for investment in non-service sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing will attract more Chinese enterprises to invest and build factories in Thailand and further optimize the layout of bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation. The RCEP’s institutional arrangements on e-commerce and intellectual property rights will further facilitate China-Thailand cooperation in cross-border e-commerce and digital economy and boost the flow of innovative resources between the two countries to jointly grasp new opportunities in the digital era.

At present, China is accelerating the building of a new development paradigm of dual circulation, enhancing high-quality BRI cooperation, constantly expanding the “circle of friends”of free trade, and continuously improving the level of opening up and cooperation. China is willing to work with Thailand and other Member States of the RCEP to seize the new opportunities brought by the RCEP and constantly release RCEP dividends, so as to lend new impetus into the regional and world economic recovery and development and contribute positive energy to building an open world economy and benefiting the people of the world.

Suggest To A Friend:   
Print