RCEP to help upgrade, boost economic growth

Workers operate on a production line for export-bound electronic devices at a factory in Pingxiang, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. "As Chinese importers face multiple pressures, the RCEP is expected to provide more growth room for the nation's exports through creating new market demand with tariff concessions," said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing. "The integration of regional industrial and supply chains brought about by the agreement will also create new growth space for the Chinese economy," Zhou said, adding that it is particularly important for China to upgrade its manufacturing sector. Cheng Shi, chief economist at ICBC International, said as the trade pact will advance regional industrial and supply chain integration, Chinese enterprises, especially those small and medium-sized ones, should further explore the growth space for the production of intermediate products and related opportunities for expanding imports and exports, to better participate in the regional industrial and supply chains. Wu Dazhi, chairman of Guangdong Zhida-Walking New Material Technology Co Ltd, said at a recent forum held by the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee that the trade agreement is set to promote the upgrade and transformation of China's footwear industry toward a high-quality growth pathway because it can further unleash Chinese enterprises' ability to utilize market resources in the region leveraging on the nation's complete industrial chains.