On the morning of November 22, local time, Premier Li Keqiang attended the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) Leaders’ Joint Statement Release Ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur International Convention Center. The leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries as well as South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India attended the meeting. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib read the statement.
The joint statement pointed out that the leaders of RCEP countries welcome the substantial progress made in the negotiations. RCEP is of great significance for improving the living standards of regional people and driving economic development, and is an important path for regional economic integration. It is conducive to promoting fair economic development and strengthening economic ties between countries. The leader asked the negotiating team to step up its work and strive to end the negotiations in 2016.
The RCEP negotiations were officially launched in May 2013. At present, 10 rounds of negotiations and 4 economic and trade ministerial meetings have been held. The goal is to reach a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial free trade agreement. The population of RCEP member countries accounts for about 50% of the world's population, and the gross domestic product, trade volume and attracting foreign investment are close to 1/3 of the world. It is currently the largest free trade agreement negotiation in Asia, and it is also the free trade area negotiation with the largest number of members, the largest scale and the broadest influence that China has participated in.
