The RCEP agreement, which was signed last November, groups 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including China and 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to make the world's biggest free trade bloc that covers nearly one-third of global population as well as GDP.[Photo/IC]

Three import commodities fairs will be held in Shandong province in the coming months to facilitate regional trade and cooperation with RCEP countries, according to an announcement at a news conference held on July 27 by the Information Office of the Shandong Provincial People's Government.

From Aug 13 to 16, the Jinan municipal government and the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce will jointly hold the first Japan (Shandong) Import Commodities Expo in Jinan, the provincial capital.

Spanning an exhibition area of 20,000 square meters, the expo will offer 600 standard booths. More than 300 Japanese enterprises are expected to participate in the exhibition.

From August 27 to 29, the first RCEP Regional (Shandong) Import Commodities Expo will be held in Linyi.

Hosted by the Linyi municipal people's government, the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce and the Shandong Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, the expo will have an exhibition area of 25,000 square meters and 1,200 standard booths.

The first South Korea (Shandong) Import Commodities Expo will be held on Sept 10 in Weihai.

Hosted by the Weihai municipal government and the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce, the expo will cover an exhibition area of 20,000 square meters and offer 800 standard booths. Around 400 South Korean companies will participate.

RCEP countries are important trading partners of Shandong province, said local authorities.

Official statistics showed that last year, the total value of trade between Shandong and RCEP members reached 774.3 billion yuan, up 12.6 percent and accounting for 35.2 percent of the province's total.