BEIJING, June 22, 2022 — Drawing from its extensive network of partners in the Asia Pacific, China’s leading business school Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) publishes a new report – “RCEP: Can Multilateralism Lead to Economic Growth in the Asia Pacific?” – to examine the impact of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which entered into force on January 1, 2022. Accounting for nearly a third of the world’s population and almost 30% of global GDP, RCEP is expected to be the most consequential trade agreement in history. This report is one of the first to bring together insights from 20 experts across 10 RCEP member countries analyzing how the agreement will change the economic and political landscape in the 21^st century.

Contributors in the report represent leading schools like CKGSB, Chulalongkorn University, and Prasmul-Eli; multilateral institutions like the Asian Development Bank; influential political figures like Indonesia’s former Trade Minister, Japan’s RCEP negotiator, Indonesia’s Consul General in Shanghai, Philippine’s Commercial Counsellor, and Australia’s Commissioner to Greater China for Victoria; and senior leaders of successful companies like Alibaba Group, United Overseas Bank and Fortune Korea.

The first section of the report discusses the geopolitical and economic shifts that will likely take place. The second section looks at the development of cross-border e-commerce and the establishment of a digital economy. The final section examines how tariff liberalization will expand trade between the member countries, sparking new sectors and elevating technical know-how.

“RCEP represents Asia’s response to an increasingly fractured world. Asia’s proactive role in supporting globalization will also help increase its influence on the world stage,” writes CKGSB Founding Dean, Xiang Bing. At a time when multilateralism is being challenged, will RCEP prove the skeptics wrong? Can it represent an opportunity to leverage liberalized trade and supply chain optimization while turbo-charging Asia Pacific’s economies?

Read the full report for free here.

About CKGSB:

Established in Beijing in November 2002, CKGSB is China’s first privately-funded and research-driven business school. The school aims to cultivate transformative business leaders with a global vision, sense of social responsibility, innovative mindset, and ability to lead with empathy and compassion. Today, CKGSB stands apart for its full-time, world-class faculty, research excellence, China insights, and unparalleled alumni network.