From June 28 to 30, 2023, the 2023 RCEP Economic and Trade Cooperation High Level Forum was held in Qingdao. Officials from relevant government departments, ambassadors to China, representatives of trade and investment promotion agencies and business associations, experts and scholars in the economic and trade field, as well as business representatives from RCEP member countries gathered together to discuss the integration of RCEP with the Asia Pacific regional economy, facilitation of international shipping trade, and integration of regional industrial and supply chains Discussion and exchange on topics such as digital economy and new opportunities for green economy.

It is worth mentioning that on June 2, 2023, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world's largest free trade agreement, officially came into force for the Philippines. So far, the agreement has come into full force for 15 signatories, marking that the free trade area with the largest population, the largest economic and trade scale and the most development potential in the world has entered a new stage of full implementation. This forum is the first international and high-level meeting with the theme of RCEP in the month of its full implementation. Unlike previous sessions, this forum has added an investment and trade negotiation section, inviting relevant departments and institutions of RCEP member countries' embassies and consulates, domestic and foreign associations, and enterprises to focus on national industrial advantages, promote investment policy environment, promote key enterprises, and carry out economic and trade negotiations.

Consolidate the first mover advantage

As the theme of the forum - "Jointly Moving Forward and Promoting Prosperity", how to create a platform and characteristic carrier for international economic, trade and cultural exchanges and high-end business elements gathering in a broader market, and promote the transformation of "traffic" into "retention" has become a must answer question for this forum.

Openness is the gene of Qingdao. The comparative advantage of Qingdao's opening up is that it faces the the Belt and Road externally, Japan and South Korea, and leads Shandong and the Yellow River basin domestically. On November 15, 2020, after 8 years, RCEP was officially signed, and the world's largest free trade agreement was reached. About one-third of the global economy will form an integrated large market. When the unprecedented opportunity of RCEP is presented to all cities, Qingdao, which has geographical and trade advantages with Japan and South Korea, boldly explores and takes the lead - only 15 days after the signing of RCEP, it proposed to build a pilot base for RCEP Qingdao's economic and trade cooperation with cruise port areas as the core, create a new international cooperation platform with a focus on 10+5 countries, and become a new fulcrum city for RCEP member countries to deeply open up and develop.

At the 2023 Provincial Two Sessions, the work report of the provincial government proposed to make good use of RCEP opportunities, carry out in-depth activities such as "one industry, one exhibition" and "one country, one exhibition", strengthen ties with Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN, increase the exploration of emerging markets such as the Middle East and Africa, and assist enterprises in seizing orders and expanding markets overseas. "The RCEP test base in Shibei District tested water early and started quickly. It has always been pioneering in terms of work carrier, system model, mechanism innovation, etc.

In the next step, Shibei District will focus on improving the level of institutional openness, promote the implementation of industrial clusters and projects to improve quality and efficiency, and create the exhibition brand and city card of RCEP High level Forum on Economic and Trade Cooperation with high specifications and standards, so as to make greater contributions to the high-level opening up of provinces and cities and high-quality economic development. " Liu Xin, deputy secretary of the CPC Shibei District Committee and head of the district, said. The continued release of RCEP dividend In order to help enterprises expand their trade business and participate in the integrated development of regional industrial chain and supply chain at a deeper level, Shibei District is making efforts in a multi-dimensional way with the "combination fist" to let enterprises enjoy the RCEP dividend.

In the field of foreign trade, Shibei District initiated the establishment of RCEP Business Service Sharing Alliance, and set up cooperation offices in RCEP member countries to provide business supporting services for enterprises; Build an RCEP centralized procurement and barter center, widely attract the flow of people, logistics, information, and funds from RCEP member countries, and build a new high-level cooperation platform. Among them, the RCEP centralized procurement and barter center is a comprehensive foreign trade service platform based on the standardization concept of trade digital data, relying on the underlying technology of trade promotion chain and blockchain, driven by data, and aimed at linking the procurement and supply needs of RCEP member countries. The center will also connect with bulk standard supervision services to solve necessary issues such as warehouse receipt trust, financing trust, operation trust, transportation trust, and testing trust in the trade process, improve the long-term circulation efficiency of bulk commodities, and reduce financial risks in the bulk commodity market.

In the field of enterprise services, the provincial origin visa technology alliance, the "RCEP Shandong Trade Connect" foreign trade practice inquiry system focusing on RCEP economic and trade rules, the comprehensive enterprise service platform focusing on RCEP economic and trade cooperation, and the enterprise tax service center of RCEP member countries help Shibei District create a new ecosystem of all-round services.

Among them, RCEP Shandong Enterprise Service Center, the first comprehensive enterprise service platform in China that focuses on RCEP economic and trade cooperation, provides one-stop services to more than 30000 foreign trade enterprises in the province, assisting them in solving pain points and blockages. As of the end of May 2023, the center has served enterprises more than 16000 times in total; The customs issued more than 54000 paper Certificate of origin and 58000 blank Certificate of origin; The tax department has accepted over 19000 export tax refunds (exemptions), with a total amount of approximately 2.8 billion yuan. China's first RCEP member state enterprise tax service center focuses on hot and difficult foreign trade issues such as trade and legal disputes, leverages the advantages of member units and expert teams, innovates and assists cross-border investment enterprises in 14 personalized services such as tax treaty implementation and tax dispute mediation based on country, industry, export mode, and preferential types, helping enterprises make good use of RCEP policy dividends and promote trade and investment facilitation.

The release of a new round of dividends from RCEP has made Qingdao's foreign trade more resilient. According to relevant data, from January to May 2023, the total import and export volume of Qingdao's foreign trade was RMB 366.22 billion, of which RMB 138.53 billion was imported and exported to other RCEP member countries, an increase of 7.6%. In the first quarter of 2023, Qingdao Customs will issue 24000 RCEP Certificate of origin, with a value of 5.13 billion yuan, up 90.3% and 35.4% year on year respectively; 35 approved exporters have been identified, and 928 RCEP country of origin declarations have been issued by relevant enterprises, with an export benefit value of 360 million yuan.

Building RCEP Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Cities

Since the implementation of RCEP, various regions have been leading, pushing, seizing opportunities, and seeking dividends. A number of effective practical measures and innovative practical achievements have emerged, promoting deeper integration into regional markets. Shibei District is the main battlefield of RCEP in Qingdao. In order to consolidate the first mover advantage and turn the "first mover" into a "strong player", Shibei District has worked with expert think tanks to prepare the Overall Construction Plan of RCEP Shandong Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone, which focuses on seven aspects, including trade in goods, trade in services, investment cooperation, and financial security, and formulates 30 tasks and measures to "escort" the building of a RCEP economic and trade cooperation demonstration city.

For example, accelerating the development of new trade formats and promoting the transformation and upgrading of goods trade through measures such as one country, one policy, and improving enterprise services; By building the "China Japan South Korea Maritime Expressway", creating an international land channel with intensive convection, and expanding international air corridors with abundant transportation capacity, we aim to enhance the energy level of the modern shipping service industry and unleash the cargo gathering effect of multimodal logistics networks; Promote innovative development of service trade through vigorously developing service trade, international human resource service trade, digital trade, etc; Expand RCEP's external investment channels and expand regional investment cooperation; Focusing on RCEP rules, we aim to create an international first-class business environment by flexibly applying rules of origin, promoting the "integration" of legal services, strengthening financial and tax service support, carrying out special actions to cultivate RCEP credit, and strengthening RCEP compliance management guidance; Support RMB cross-border settlement, promote the sustainable development of supply chain finance, establish a risk sharing mechanism for exchange rate hedging, and build a Financial inclusion service platform; Strengthen publicity and promotion, and expand overseas awareness through holding economic and trade exchange activities, conducting promotion training along the Yellow River Basin, and other means.

"We will use three years to explore, make breakthroughs and make new efforts to build a new type of Free-trade zone with convenient trade, open services, free investment, safe and efficient supervision, great international influence, and strong radiating and driving effect, form a batch of replicable and promotable leading experience, and make a good demonstration area." said Gao Jian, secretary of Shibei District Party Committee. The RCEP experimental base brings not only the reshaping of the industrial chain, but also the reconstruction of urban space and the comprehensive renewal of the city to Qingdao and Shibei. In order to further stimulate the endogenous driving force of openness, amplify the first-mover advantage of RCEP experimental bases, and deepen the integration of port resources.

In 2023, Shibei District proposed to strive for a model district of three districts in Shandong Province, and set up a development fund for three districts with a total scale of 5 billion yuan. With the goal of comprehensive growth in one year, in-depth integration in two years, and remarkable achievements in three years, around the "strong port, fine park, and excellent city", it explored a new way to promote the revitalization of the old port area, develop new parks, and revitalize the old city area through innovation. Sharing new opportunities and collaborating to win the future! Together, we look forward to the magnificent blooming of the prosperous flowers nurtured by regional cooperation.Editor/XingWentao