Conference to focus on potential of future development after key regional pact
The Guangzhou commerce bureau is hosting a roundtable on Tuesday afternoon in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on new cooperation opportunities to be brought about by the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
The event is likely to be the first RCEP-themed conference ever organized by a government in China after the regional pact was signed between China and its 14 partners on Nov 15, which has helped remove obstacles in the realization of the multilateral free trade agreement.
Government officials, experts, foreign counselors, representatives of commercial organizations and heads of industrial associations around the world－especially from the RCEP-involved countries such as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand－are attending online and offline.
"Guangzhou enjoys transport advantages as it is in the geometric center of RCEP member countries. All of RCEP member countries are Guangzhou's important investment and trade partners with very intimate relations," said Hong Qian, director general of the Guangzhou commerce bureau.
"The roundtable will help us delve into the RCEP issues, dwell on the consequential business and cooperation opportunities and better place Guangzhou in the involvement of the Belt and Road Initiative," he added.
Government data shows the total volume of foreign trade between Guangzhou and the 14 RCEP member countries reached 347.2 billion yuan ($53.1 billion) in 2019. It accounted for 34.7 percent of the city's total foreign trade volume. The paid-in foreign capital from RCEP members was $1.87 billion, accounting for 26.2 percent of the total foreign capital used by the city.
In 2020, the trade between the city and other RCEP member countries has remained stable. Foreign-funded enterprises in the city invested in by businesses from other RCEP members, such as Honda, Toyota and LG, are running well, Hong said.
Guangzhou is one of the gateways in China's opening-up policy. Leveraging the advantages of China's reform and opening-up framework, its geographical location and a large population of overseas Chinese living in the city, Guangzhou has enjoyed close business ties with RCEP member countries for a long time, said Mao Yanhua, a professor from Sun Yatsen University.
Mao is among the experts who have been invited to Tuesday's roundtable to elaborate on his viewpoints on cooperation opportunities for Guangzhou and for other RCEP members as well.
The signing of the RCEP will greatly promote the economic, trade and investment relations between Guangzhou and China's partners involved in the RCEP, he said.
Based on the RCEP's high-standard economic and trade rules, this kind of partnership will promote the construction of a new open economic structure in the city and enhance Guangzhou's opening-up level, Mao said.
The RCEP agreement will create large-scale trade demand, promote industrial division and boost cooperation in the region, which is conducive to optimizing the layout of the supply chain in Guangzhou, Mao said.
The RCEP can also contribute to the upgrading of Guangzhou's industrial chain and getting Guangzhou to optimize the local business environment to better suit global rules, Mao said.
Over the past 40 years, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao have formed a cooperation relationship complemented by their respective advantages, Mao said.
At present, the three cities should speed up the convergence of business and institutional mechanisms, work together to create a first-class business environment under the framework of China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and build up an integrated market, Mao said, adding that it can then attract more enterprises involved in the RCEP to invest and start businesses in the area, gathering resources of talent, scientific and technological information and capital.
To seize the opportunity, Guangzhou should make full use of the diverse large-scale RCEP market, accelerate the construction of its industrial supply chain and improve the competitiveness and the internationalization level of Guangzhou enterprises, Mao added.
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