RCEP set to help stabilize global trading system

The advancement of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement to a higher level and toward broader coverage will bolster economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region and help stabilize a fracturing world trade system, officials and experts said on Sunday.

The mega trade pact, covering 30 percent of the world's total population and economic output, should play an even more significant role in championing free trade and mutual benefits as headwinds buffet the global economy, they said at the 2025 RCEP Media and Think Tank Forum held in Haikou, Hainan province.

The forum, themed "Jointly Building High-Level and Largest Free Trade Area", was organized by China Daily, the China Institute for Reform and Development and the China Oceanic Development Foundation.