Against the backdrop of slowing global economic recovery and rising unilateralism, Xu Ningning, Chairman of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee, systematically reviewed the economic development trend, mechanism synergy effectiveness, and future cooperation path in the Asia Pacific region.

His core judgment is clear and firm: the Asia Pacific region has a solid economic foundation and close industrial connections, and remains a key engine driving global economic growth. In 2026, China's presidency of APEC is becoming an important window for consolidating open consensus and opening up the dual mechanisms of RCEP and APEC.

Dual mechanism superposition activation integration

Since the full implementation of RCEP, the dividends of institutional openness have continued to be released. The agreement covers zero tariff arrangements for over 90% of goods trade within the region, and the cumulative rules of origin effectively integrate industrial resources, significantly reducing cross-border trade costs and promoting steady expansion of intermediate goods trade and two-way investment.

The cooperation between China and ASEAN is an important support for implementing RCEP rules, and the two sides have been each other's primary trading partners for many years. In 2026, China will assume the presidency of APEC and host a series of important meetings. Xu Ningning stated that relying on the opportunity of the APEC China Year, it can effectively connect the APEC open vision with the pragmatic rules of RCEP, break down cooperation barriers, and enhance the level of regional trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.

China's growth empowers regional common development

At present, the total economic output of the Asia Pacific region accounts for over 60% of the world's total, and the scale of intra regional trade ranks first in the world. In 2025, China's foreign economic and trade cooperation will improve, and its trade with RCEP member countries and ASEAN countries will maintain a good growth trend, with overall performance better than the overall foreign trade market.

Against the backdrop of a sustained downturn in global cross-border investment, the Asia Pacific region has attracted over 30% of global cross-border investment. China relies on a complete industrial system, a huge market size, and sustained policy determination to open up to the outside world, effectively ensuring the smooth operation of regional industrial and supply chains, and continuously providing solid support for the stable development of the Asia Pacific economy.

Five measures to promote win-win development

Xu Ningning briefly put forward five suggestions. One is to continuously deepen the implementation of RCEP, unify the standards for origin recognition, mutual recognition of qualifications, and other execution. The second is to deepen and expand cooperation between China and ASEAN, and promote key areas such as digital economy and green industries. Thirdly, we should make good use of the opportunity presented by the APEC China Year strategy to achieve mutual empowerment between top-level design and practical implementation. The fourth is to deeply cultivate advantageous industries such as advanced manufacturing and new energy, and cultivate new driving forces for economic growth. The fifth is to stimulate the participation of the business community and support the integration of small and medium-sized enterprises into regional industrial and supply chains. Keywords: Asia Pacific cooperation, digital economy, green industry

The core direction of these suggestions is clear: openness brings progress, and win-win cooperation leads the future. China has always practiced high-level opening up to the outside world, focusing on and empowering the Asia Pacific region. All parties should seize the two opportunities of deepening the implementation of RCEP and APEC China, jointly safeguard the overall situation of regional development, and create long-term prosperity and stability for countries along the the Belt and Road and the Asia Pacific region.Editor/Gao Xue