ISLAMABAD:Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI)’s United Business Group Chairman Shahzad Ali Malik on Sunday said that against the backdrop of sluggish global economic growth, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) bloc, covering the largest population and the largest scale of economy and trade, has not only injected vigour into the development of the regional economy but also served as a model for common development among countries of different political systems and different cultures.
Talking to a delegation of industrialists and traders led by Chaudhry Jawad Hafeez Arain here today he said January 1 marked the one-year anniversary of the entry into force of the world’s largest trading bloc, the RCEP, consisting of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) along with China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
He said Pakistan should also take benefits from this free trade block to strengthen its fragile economy on sound footings. He called upon Pakistan’s private sector to work out strategies for the promotion of multilateral trade with RCEP countries.
He said as the world’s second-largest economy, China accounts for 60 per cent of the RCEP’s total economic volume, and its huge market, as well as the transformation of economic structure, provides an impetus for the growth of the regional economy.
Shahzad Ali Malik (Sitara-I-Imtiaz) said the RCEP stimulates regional economic dynamism by reducing impediments to greater economic exchanges and the regional division of labour, such as tariffs and non-tariff measures. This paves the way for the more efficient allocation of production factors, more efficient design and deployment of cross-border supply and value chains, and regionally coordinated trading rules and best practices in relation to international commerce, he added.
He said e-commerce is a good example and facilitated by non-tariff measures and customs clearance convenience, the RCEP region has the most active cross-border e-commerce and enjoys the highest growth rate in the world.
He said the total volume of imports and exports between China and other RCEP members reached 11.8 trillion yuan ($1.71 trillion) from January to November last year, an increase of 7.9 per cent year-on-year. This speaks volumes about how the RCEP has promoted economic and trade cooperation between China and the other participating countries and the development of the regional economy. he added.
Shahzad said the lower tariffs facilitated by the RCEP have greatly reduced the cost of imports for the ASEAN members, while at the same time considerably increasing the opportunities for their exports.
Leader of the delegation Chaudhary Jawad Hafeez Arain said the RCEP reduced the tariffs between China and its ASEAN partners on more than 65 per cent of commodities to zero immediately after the treaty took effect last year. From January to October last year, China’s imports and exports with ASEAN countries reached $798.4 billion, an increase of 13.8 per cent year-on-year.
He said the importance of the RCEP, therefore, can never be overestimated for the development of both the regional and global economies.