Graphics: RCEP to accelerate Asia-Pacific's regional integration

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 will be held from March 25 to 28 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province.

With the theme "Asia in the Changing World: Towards a Shared Future," this year's event will focus on development, fostering dialogue, exploring innovative formats and valuing tangible outcomes, all aimed at promoting international development and cooperation, FA Secretary General Zhang Jun said.

Founded in 2001, the BFA is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which entered into force on January 1, 2022, comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – and five of their trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

This world's largest free trade agreement covers 30 percent of the world's population, contributes about 30 percent of global GDP, and accounts for 28 percent of global trade in goods and services.

This framework streamlines commerce among ASEAN nations, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. It has bolstered supply chain resilience, expanded business opportunities and narrowed development gaps in the region. Over the past three years since its inception, the RCEP has driven measurable progress. Intra-regional trade of RCEP members reached $5.6 trillion in 2023.

According to a study conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the RCEP is expected to increase the incomes of member economies by 0.6 percent by 2030, adding $245 billion annually to regional income and 2.8 million jobs to regional employment.