File photo: VCG

 
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is expected to be signed during the upcoming 4th RCEP leaders' meeting and the relevant paper work has been finished, a Chinese commerce official said on Wednesday. 

Under the leadership of ASEAN, all parties involved in the RCEP have pushed forward talks in various areas despite the impact of the coronavirus, and all of the talks have now been completed, Li Chenggang, Assistant Minister of Commerce, told a press conference on Wednesday. 

"All texts and legal review work have also been completed," he said, noting the RCEP agreement is expected to be inked during the 4th RCEP leaders' meeting. 

The meeting will be held on Sunday, along with a series of conferences between Thursday and Sunday to strengthen regional cooperation amid the pandemic, including the 15th East Asia Summit, the 23rd China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting, the 23rd ASEAN-China, Japan and Republic of Korea (10+3) leaders' meeting and the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

Once signed, the RCEP will be the largest free trade agreement (FTA) in the world - covering the largest number of people, according to Li. "It will be one of the most vital achievements in the integration of East Asian economies over the past 20 years."

The RCEP, initiated by ASEAN in 2012, is a proposed FTA between the bloc's 10 members and its six FTA partners China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India. 

It is unsure whether India will join the agreement after the country announced last year that it would not participate in the negotiations. 

Once signed, the RCEP will form the largest free-trade agreement in Asia, covering 47.4 percent of the world's population, and accounting for 32.2 percent of global GDP, 29.1 percent of trade worldwide and 32.5 percent of global investment, Xinhua noted.