China and 14 Asia-Pacific countries sign the world's largest regional free trade agreement

---

Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations, including China, on Sunday, signed the world's biggest trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The RCEP was signed after eight years of negotiations at the conclusion of the annual summit of Southeast Asian leaders and their regional partners, held virtually this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The agreement, which covers almost a third of the world economy, will progressively lower tariffs across many areas in the coming years, reported Channel News Asia. The RCEP was first proposed in 2012 and loops in 10 ASEAN economies Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia along with China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.