The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact has facilitated the sound growth momentum of China’s exports to other member countries of the agreement.

RCEP came into effect in January2022. During the first six months, exports and imports between China and other RCEP countries accounted for about 32 percent of China’s total trade.China’s exports to other RCEP member countries grew 14 percent year-on-year, which was 2.3 percentage points higher than the average annual growth rate of China’s exports to other RCEP member countries in the past 20 years.

Chinese exports to other major RCEP member countries have increased significantly during the first half, except for Vietnam and Japan. Other RCEP countries’ contributions to China’s exports have also increased during the period, and the share of non-RCEP member countries in China’s outbound shipments dropped by 1.11 percentage points from a year earlier. In addition, shares of most RCEP countries in China’s exports have all risen, except for Japan, Vietnam and New Zealand.

The RCEP has facilitated China’s exports to Japan and South Korea. The implementation of the trade pact has for the first time established direct free trade relations between China and Japan, and Japan will eventually remove 88 percent of tariffs on Chinese imports.