Lowy Institute this week released a new commentary arguing RCEP’s General Review represents a critical opportunity to transform the world’s largest trading bloc into a meaningful anchor against geoeconomic fragmentation in the Asia-Pacific.
The commentary states that RCEP members should pursue a phased approach with early harvest gains in digital economy, supply chain resilience, and environmental sustainability to build momentum for deeper regional integration.
Lowy Institute stated:
A strengthened RCEP would diversify regional supply chains, reduce vulnerability to unilateral trade measures, and amplify a collective voice that neither Washington nor Beijing can afford to ignore. As geoeconomic competition intensifies, the region faces a defining choice: be a passive arena for competing interests or strengthen its resilience through deeper regional integration. RCEP offers the architecture for the latter.
Read the full commentary: RCEP’s Moment to Matter