RCEP offers broader room for China-ROK cooperation: official

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement offers broader room for China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to deepen economic and trade cooperation, a Chinese official said Thursday.

Shu Jueting, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, made the remarks at a press conference as the trade volume between the two countries gained 10.2 percent year on year in the first five months of this year to 152.26 billion U.S. dollars.

The RCEP agreement, the world's largest free trade deal with China and the ROK among its signing members, came into force on the first day of 2022.

"Given a fragile global economic recovery, the continued fast-growing China-ROK trade fully shows the resilience and potential in their economic and trade cooperation, serving the common interests and development needs of the two countries," Shu said.

Working together with the ROK, China will implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, carry out the joint plan for economic and trade cooperation for the 2021-2025 period, unleash cooperation potential in new areas including green development and digital economy, push for the high-quality RCEP implementation, and further facilitate trade and investment, Shu said.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, China and the ROK have enjoyed robust trade and economic cooperation. Bilateral trade has surged to more than 360 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 from over 5 billion U.S. dollars in 1992. The two countries have become major trading partners with each other.