Xinhua News Agency reporter Cai Shuya and Li Wei

Gu Qingyang, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, recently said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency that in the context of the world's economic difficulties, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has injected strong growth momentum into emerging markets, highlighting RCEP's contribution to the region. importance of national development.
The latest report of the Asian Development Bank raised the economic growth forecast for Southeast Asia in 2022 from 5.1% to 5.5%. Gu Qingyang believes that this reflects to a certain extent the expectation that RCEP will boost the economy of ASEAN countries.
"ASEAN countries are important members of RCEP and are also major active trade areas. Countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia have all delivered good economic results in 2022." Gu Qingyang said.
Statistics show that Indonesia's exports increased significantly by nearly 22% in the third quarter of 2022; the Philippines' exports of goods and services increased by 13.1% in the third quarter, higher than 9.1% in the same period of 2021, and imports also increased by more than 17%.
Gu Qingyang said that the rapid growth of trade activities under the RCEP framework is one of the important reasons for giving Southeast Asian economies strong growth vitality. "Tariff reductions and exemptions have significantly reduced trade costs among member countries, made trade activities more active, and effectively promoted economic growth. This is a tangible benefit that RCEP has brought to ASEAN countries through trade channels."
Gu Qingyang believes that the accumulation rules of origin determined by RCEP are an important policy innovation. "This rule allows countries in the region to obtain certificates of origin by accumulating added value, allowing relevant industrial layouts to more flexibly comply with the principle of efficiency, which will effectively promote the integration of industrial and supply chains among member countries."
"RCEP member states have strong industrial complementarities. For example, Japan and South Korea are leading in advanced manufacturing, China has advantages in mid-to-high-end manufacturing, and ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia have more advanced capabilities in mid-to-low-end manufacturing. Strong competitiveness, and Australia and New Zealand have unique resource endowments." Gu Qingyang said. "The growth of direct investment among RCEP member countries reflects the increasing momentum of industrial chain integration within the region, which is also highly attractive to economies outside the region and is attracting more and more global foreign investment."
Gu Qingyang said that under the RCEP framework, each member country is also responsible for optimizing inspection and quarantine, customs clearance speed, policy coordination, etc., which plays an important and positive role in optimizing the business environment, smoothing international trade, and attracting internal and external investment.
Gu Qingyang also noticed that RCEP member countries pay more attention to promoting investment in green energy and digital economy projects. He said this will provide ASEAN countries with new impetus for sustainable development. "Chinese Internet companies are actively expanding their business in Southeast Asia, supporting the development of digital economy in ASEAN countries, and extensively participating in the construction of e-commerce and mobile payment companies in ASEAN countries, bringing new forms of economic development to ASEAN."
"I am deeply impressed by the Huawei Spark project. It uses cloud technology to help start-ups in Southeast Asia create an ecosystem suitable for enterprise development, allowing small and micro enterprises to grow rapidly through technological innovation and international cooperation, which is of great help to these enterprises." Gu Qingyang explain.
He also said that since RCEP came into effect, some member states have made a lot of progress in connectivity construction. For example, the opening of the China-Laos railway has made it easier for products from Laos and neighboring countries to be sold to China, bringing tangible benefits to the local people. “Driven by physical infrastructure and digital connectivity, regional trade and industrial chain integration will reach new heights.”
Gu Qingyang told reporters that although RCEP has only been in effect for one year, it has already brought gratifying changes in promoting trade facilitation, integrating industrial chains, enhancing regional development attractiveness, and promoting development results to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises and ordinary people.
"China plays an important role in RCEP and is also the main export destination of other RCEP member countries. China's stronger economic growth in the future will bring broader development space to RCEP." Gu Qingyang said.