The regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement will enter into force on 1 January 2022

Xinhua news agency, Beijing, November 3 - according to the Ministry of Commerce on the 3rd, the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP) will enter into force on January 1, 2022.

It is reported that the ASEAN Secretariat, the custodian of RCEP, issued a notice on the 2nd, announcing that six ASEAN member states such as Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and four non ASEAN member states such as China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia have officially submitted a letter of approval to the ASEAN secretary general, reaching the threshold for the entry into force of the agreement.

According to the agreement, RCEP will enter into force for the above ten countries on January 1, 2022.

RCEP was officially signed on November 15, 2020, and now has 15 member states. Its total population, economic volume and total trade account for about 30% of the global total. It is the largest free trade zone in the world. The entry into force of the agreement is of great significance to further promote free trade in the region, stabilize the industrial chain and supply chain, and promote China's high-level opening-up.