The agreement was signed on November 15 by 10 ASEAN countries and their trade partners – China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

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At the signing of the RCEP agreement (Photo: Vietnam+)

Handelsblatt (Trade) newswire on November 14 said that the deal will form a free trade region which comprises of 2.2 billion people and accounts for one-third of global gross domestic product.

The agreement, signed after eight years of talks, will reduce tariffs, set common trade rules and also facilitate supply chains.

The article also cited economists as saying that the deal is of great importance for economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, FAZ newspaper assessed that reaching consensus on tariff reductions and regulations related to around 20 aspects is a success of the RCEP signatories which are competing in many fields.

The article quoted economist Radhika Rao from the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) as saying that the deal will bring about a chance for the region to turn the “factory of the world” into the “market of the world.”

The DW (Deutsche Welle) newspaper also ran an article on the signing of the RCEP, saying that 15 nations in the Asia-Pacific region have entered into the world's largest free-trade agreement, which they hope will accelerate the recovery of their economies, ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: VNA