What does the birth of the world's largest free trade zone mean for Japan?



        The formal signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement not only gave birth to the world’s largest free trade zone, but also established China-Japan free trade relations through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This is the first time that my country has signed a free trade agreement with the world’s top ten economies. The agreement has increased the trade coverage between my country and its free trade partners from the current 28% to 35%. What does this mean for Japan? At the same time, what role does it have to promote the economic growth of the entire East Asian region?


   All walks of life in Japan pay great attention and affirm the formal signing of the agreement


   The "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" is a key topic of recent Japanese society's attention, and it has occupied the focus of Japanese media reports in the past two days. Japanese media generally believe that the total GDP of the participating countries covered by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will account for about one-third of the global total, making it the world's leading regional trade group. In the context of the new crown pneumonia epidemic hitting global economic confidence, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will inject impetus into participating countries such as Japan and the world economy, and also promote the further development of free trade.


At present, Japan has signed other free trade agreements with the 10 ASEAN countries, and has reached agreements with Australia and New Zealand under the framework of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is a major trade agreement between Japan and The first free trade agreement concluded between partners China and South Korea.


  The Japanese economic community is concerned about the impact of tariff reductions on specific industries. According to the Japan Broadcasting Association, China and South Korea will phased out tariffs on approximately 90% of Japanese industrial products under the framework of the agreement. At present, the rate of China’s removal of tariffs on Japanese industrial products is about 8%, and that of South Korea. At 19%, it can be said that the agreement will greatly promote the export of Japanese industrial products to China and South Korea. This means a new economic growth point for Japan. Especially in industries where Japan has greater advantages such as auto parts, some products exported to China will be directly reduced to zero tariffs when the agreement comes into force.


   In addition, in the agricultural and food industries, the Japanese domestic market has become saturated in recent years, and Japanese exports of seafood, beef, Japanese alcohol and other agricultural and sideline foods will gradually be reduced to zero tariffs. This is undoubtedly good news for related industries in Japan.


On the other hand, in terms of imports, in addition to five important agricultural products such as rice, beef, pork, and dairy products, Japan will gradually remove tariffs on approximately 50% of agricultural products from China and South Korea, which will also allow Japanese consumers Get more benefits.


   China, Japan and South Korea will strengthen cooperation in various fields to promote industrial development


  According to the statistics of the Ministry of Finance of Japan in 2019, China accounted for 21% of Japan's foreign trade share, and South Korea accounted for 5%. For Japan, China and South Korea are both important trading partners. Among them, China is currently Japan's largest trading partner. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will play an important role in promoting trade and investment between China, Japan and South Korea. It will also promote East Asia cooperation in various fields such as technology, financial technology, medical care, environmental protection, and tourism, and establish an effective supply chain. , Forming an industrial layout strategy. Japanese scholars believe that it is worth noting that the Japanese government is now actively promoting digital reforms, and China is at the leading level in the field of digital economy. South Korea is also very active in this regard. The signing of the agreement will help promote the development of regional digital economy industries. .


   In addition to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, free trade negotiations between China, Japan and South Korea are still continuing. As the three major economies in East Asia, the standards of the China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement will be even higher. Japanese economic circles also look forward to the further acceleration of the China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement negotiations that began in 2002.