楊艷

By Yang Yan/The World and Chongqing

RCEP Enters into Force：

Cooperation Between Chongqing and RCEP Countries on Fast Track

On January 1st， 2022， the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement （RCEP） entered into force in six ASEAN member states and non-ASEAN countries including China， Japan， Australia， and New Zealand.

As introduced by the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce， Chongqing is the juncture of the Silk Road Economic Belt， the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， and the Yangtze River Economic Belt， boasting a unique location advantage in strengthening international cooperation with RCEP Participating Countries （RPCs） along these routes. In recent years， Chongqing has attached great importance to ASEAN. While implementing the ASEAN Action Plan， Chongqing has also accelerated joint venture partnerships and cooperation with Japan and the Republic of Korea， facilitating full momentum to promote economic and trade cooperation with RPCs.

RPCs are important economic and trade partners of Chongqing. In the past five years， the scale of foreign trade between Chongqing and RPCs has been expanding， increasing from RMB127 billion in 2016 to RMB204.3 billion in 2020， with an average annual growth rate of 12.6%. From January to October 2021， the import and export volume between Chongqing and RPCs registered RMB190.72 billion， up by 15.1% year-on-year， accounting for 29.6% of the overall municipal foreign trade volume in the same period. The Republic of Korea is the largest trading partner of Chongqing in the RCEP region.

The RPCs have invested or established an average of over 50 businesses in Chongqing every year， and the actual utilization of foreign investment exceeds USD900 million annually. From January to October 2021， the actual utilization of foreign investment from RPCs is USD1.5 billion， an increase of 40% year-on-year， accounting for 18.6% of the overall. Singapore and the Republic of Korea are the main source countries of RCEP foreign investment.

A Range of Initiatives Facilitating Greater Cooperation with RPCs

The CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and Chongqing Municipal Government attach great importance to promoting full economic and trade cooperation with RPCs. In 2021， leaderships of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and Chongqing Municipal Government have met and engaged in frequent exchanges with government officials and representatives of major businesses from countries such as Singapore， Japan， Malaysia， Laos， Indonesia， Vietnam， and Thailand. Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has been enhanced effectively through continuous interactions with governments and businesses of these countries， resulting in expanded trade volume， improved functionality of multiple cooperation corridors， effective platforms， and frequent mutual exchanges.

The Chongqing Municipal Government， as well as various municipal departments such as the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce and the Foreign Affairs Office， are actively researching for ways to promote further economic and trade cooperation between Chongqing and ASEAN， including formulating development plans， actively attracting investment， facilitating government-to-business exchanges， and promoting cooperation projects. During the Third Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade （WCIFIT）， the 2021 CCI-ILSTC （China-Singapore Connectivity Initiative and New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor） International Cooperation Forum was successfully held in Chongqing. During the China-Singapore （Chongqing） Connectivity Initiative Financial Summit 2021， a specialized event： Matchmaking Session–RCEP Opportunities for Inland China was also held. Officials from businesses associations or chambers of commerce from Singapore and Malaysia， as well as a total of over 150 domestic and foreign businesses， participated online or in person， looking for in-depth cooperation in Chongqing.

A Wide Range of Cooperation Between Chongqing and RPCs for High-Quality Cooperation and Greater Openness

Chongqing will continue to further facilitate inland opening-up， build a fertile ground to attract foreign investment， integrate into the world economy， and promote stability of the industrial chains and supply chains. We will make good use of the RCEP rules， seize the opportunities， deepen cooperation with RPCs， especially with ASEAN countries， and promote high-quality opening-up.

Efforts will be made to build an international logistics hub connecting RPCs and construct a logistics distribution center for RPCs in western China. We will take the opportunities presented by the comprehensive pilot project of expanding the opening-up of the service sector to develop financial services provided to RPCs. We will continue to promote trade facilitation and intellectual property rights protection， implement initiatives to facilitate the movement of natural persons， continue to optimize the business environment， and continue to improve the level of government services and efficiency， building Chongqing into a desirable and open environment that makes the locals happy and attracts those who are far.

2022年1月1日，《區(qū)域全面經(jīng)濟(jì)伙伴關(guān)系協(xié)定》（RCEP）在東盟6國(guó)和中國(guó)、日本、澳大利亞、新西蘭等非東盟成員國(guó)正式生效。

市商務(wù)委介紹，重慶作為“一帶一路”和長(zhǎng)江經(jīng)濟(jì)帶的聯(lián)結(jié)點(diǎn)，在深化與沿線RCEP成員國(guó)國(guó)際合作中具有得天獨(dú)厚的區(qū)位優(yōu)勢(shì)。近年來，重慶一直深耕東盟，實(shí)施“東盟行動(dòng)計(jì)劃”，并同時(shí)加速與日韓的合資合作，全面推進(jìn)與RCEP成員國(guó)經(jīng)貿(mào)合作。

RCEP成員國(guó)是重慶重要的經(jīng)貿(mào)伙伴。過去5年，重慶與RCEP成員國(guó)進(jìn)出口貿(mào)易規(guī)模不斷擴(kuò)大，從2016年的1270億元增加到2020年的2043億元，年均增長(zhǎng)率達(dá)12.6%。2021年1—10月，重慶與RCEP成員國(guó)進(jìn)出口額1907.2億元，同比增長(zhǎng)15.1%，占同期全市外貿(mào)進(jìn)出口額的29.6%。其中，韓國(guó)是重慶在RCEP區(qū)域最大的貿(mào)易伙伴。

據(jù)介紹，RCEP成員國(guó)在渝投資興辦企業(yè)年均達(dá)到50家以上，每年實(shí)際利用外資均超過9億美元。2021年1—10月，實(shí)際利用RCEP成員國(guó)外資15億美元，同比增長(zhǎng)40%，占全市18.6%。其中，新加坡和韓國(guó)是RCEP外資主要來源國(guó)。

多舉措推動(dòng)與RCEP成員國(guó)合作全面提速

重慶市委、市政府高度重視加深與RCEP成員國(guó)的經(jīng)貿(mào)合作。2021年，重慶市委、市政府領(lǐng)導(dǎo)多次與新加坡、日本、馬來西亞、老撾、印尼、越南、泰國(guó)等國(guó)家的政府官員及重要客商進(jìn)行接洽和會(huì)談，通過持續(xù)與這些國(guó)家的政企互動(dòng)，將雙邊經(jīng)貿(mào)合作穩(wěn)步推進(jìn)，呈現(xiàn)出貿(mào)易規(guī)模不斷擴(kuò)大、通道功能不斷提升、平臺(tái)作用不斷顯現(xiàn)、交流互動(dòng)不斷深化的良好局面。

重慶市政府，以及市商務(wù)委、市政府外辦等各部門，積極加強(qiáng)研究、采取多種措施，從制定發(fā)展規(guī)劃、大力招商引資、密切政企交流、共建合作項(xiàng)目等方面推動(dòng)重慶與東盟的經(jīng)貿(mào)合作更進(jìn)一步。在2021年西洽會(huì)期間，重慶成功舉辦2021陸海新通道國(guó)際合作論壇。在2021中新金融峰會(huì)上還舉辦了“RCEP機(jī)遇與內(nèi)陸開放對(duì)接會(huì)”，新加坡、馬來西亞商協(xié)會(huì)負(fù)責(zé)人及150余家境內(nèi)外企業(yè)線上線下同步參加會(huì)議，推動(dòng)加深在渝合作。

重慶與RCEP成員國(guó)合作領(lǐng)域廣泛 共同推動(dòng)高質(zhì)量開放合作

接下來，重慶將進(jìn)一步加快推進(jìn)內(nèi)陸開放，打造成為吸引外資的沃土，與世界經(jīng)濟(jì)更深融合，形成更穩(wěn)定的產(chǎn)業(yè)鏈、供應(yīng)鏈，用好RCEP規(guī)則、搶抓RCEP機(jī)遇，深化與RCEP成員國(guó)特別是東南亞國(guó)家的合作，推動(dòng)高質(zhì)量開放。

構(gòu)建聯(lián)通RCEP成員國(guó)的國(guó)際物流樞紐，建設(shè)RCEP成員國(guó)在中國(guó)西部的物流集散中心。以服務(wù)業(yè)擴(kuò)大開放綜合試點(diǎn)為契機(jī)，搶抓開放新機(jī)遇，大力發(fā)展面向RCEP成員國(guó)的金融服務(wù)。不斷提升貿(mào)易便利化水平、加強(qiáng)知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)保護(hù)、實(shí)施自然人流動(dòng)便利化舉措，持續(xù)優(yōu)化營(yíng)商環(huán)境，持續(xù)提升政府服務(wù)水平和辦事效率，營(yíng)造“近者悅、遠(yuǎn)者來”的開放環(huán)境。