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The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) doesn't only belong to its 15 signatory countries, it's also open and inclusive, and more countries are welcome to participate, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday. 

China is willing to work with the international community to uphold multilateralism, to work together with all parties to build an open world economy, Li said, adding that the RCEP is in line with WTO rules and is a useful supplement to the multilateral trading system.

Li's remark was made at the fifth "1+6" Roundtable via videoconference with several heads of major international economic organizations including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the WTO on Tuesday, in a discussion on the world economy, and global economic governance in the post-COVID era.

China and 14 other economies signed the RCEP, the world's largest trade deal, on November 15 to form a free trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region encompassing a third of the global economy.

Chinese officials and experts call the RCEP a historic win for multilateralism that will help the regional and global economies cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and rising protectionism. 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang spoke highly of the pact, saying it's not only an achievement of landmark significance in East Asian regional cooperation, but also a victory of multilateralism and free trade. 

Chinese observers also applauded the signing of the pact, saying it mirrors China's leading role in pushing multilateral cooperation, which is in sharp contrast to the US government's push for economic decoupling between the US and China, and other major global economies. 

It's widely believed Joe Biden's administration will reconsider US economic hegemonism and protectionism, and will mend US' economic relations with other countries in order to comply with the trend of economic globalization.

China is making frequent moves to deepen its opening up and regional cooperation, sending a positive signal to Biden, and showing that China and the US still have a lot in common, Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) think tank, told the Global Times.

Global Times