The RCEP Qingdao Pilot Innovation Base for Economic and Trade Cooperation starts construction on Jan 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) High-level Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation was launched in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province on April 25.

Sponsored by the China Chamber of International Commerce and the Qingdao municipal people's government, the event attracted over 200 attendees, including government officials from RCEP countries, representatives of trade and investment promotion agencies and business associations, diplomatic envoys in China, influential research institutes, experts and scholars, and representatives of domestic and foreign enterprises.

The event, held both online and offline, aims to help enterprises participate in international cooperation and competition and share in the development dividends brought about by the RCEP.

Lin Yuhui, secretary-general of ASEAN Secretariat, said that the RCEP agreement has led to modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial economic cooperation, and most importantly, it has promoted rule-based bilateral trade.

Gao Yan, director of the China Chamber of International Commerce, noted that the RCEP will strongly promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and deepen regional economic integration.

Gao said that China has formally applied to the ASEAN Secretariat to host more RCEP-related economic and trade activities in the future, aiming to provide precise services for enterprises and build more platforms for regional economic and trade cooperation.

After eight years of negotiations, 15 Asia-Pacific countries signed the RCEP agreement on Nov 15, 2020. The agreement involves all 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and five of its major trading partners－China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.