ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi: Further empowering small and medium-sized enterprises to fully unleash the RCEP potential.

At the opening ceremony of the "Building a High-Level, Maximum Free Trade Zone - 2025 RCEP Regional Development Media Think Tank Forum", ASEAN Secretary-General Gao Jinghong stated that all RCEP contracting parties should help small and medium-sized enterprises integrate into the regional value chain and actively promote local development by developing more flexible, transparent, and convenient frameworks. Gao Jinghong believes that strengthening public-private partnerships is still key to fully unleashing the potential of RCEP. The private sector is the engine of innovation and economic growth for all member countries, and governments must collaborate closely with enterprises, especially in key areas such as rules of origin, tariff preferences, liberalization of services trade, and facilitation of investment, to ensure that all parties have a comprehensive understanding and application of the agreement terms.