RCEP ministers in Manila advance expansion, launch upgrade process by 2027
The fifth ministerial meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was held on September 21 in Manila, Philippines. Ministers agreed to establish working groups for the accession of Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong (China), and Sri Lanka, and decided to draft a Joint Scoping Document for RCEP upgrades, aiming to launch the upgrade process at the 2027 ministerial meeting. Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Yan Dong called for accelerating expansion and upgrading the agreement amid rising protectionism.
Reference imageEditorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page reads the event directly, while its address stays stable when the title changes.
- Summary covers the current reports
Cross-source coverage
Reporting timeline
RCEP Ministers Meet in Manila, Advance Expansion and Upgrade Plans
On September 21, the fifth ministerial meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) since its entry into force was held in Manila, Philippines. Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Yan Dong attended and spoke. Participants exchanged views on regional and global economic conditions and RCEP's future direction, reaffirming commitment to an open, free, fair, and rules-based trade framework. They agreed to strengthen RCEP implementation, deepen trade and investment ties among members, and enhance regional economic resilience. The ministers welcomed the establishment of working groups for the accession of new members including Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong (China), and Sri Lanka, advancing the RCEP expansion process. They also decided to begin drafting a Joint Scoping Document for RCEP upgrades, with the expectation of announcing the launch of the upgrade process at the 2027 RCEP ministerial meeting.
Read sourceRCEP Fifth Ministerial Meeting Held in Manila; China Urges Expansion and Upgrade
The fifth ministerial meeting since the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was held on September 21 in Manila, Philippines, as reported on September 22. Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong attended and delivered a speech. Yan stated that the current global environment is facing headwinds from unilateralism and protectionism, with insufficient momentum for world economic growth and rising uncertainty for all economies. He urged all parties to uphold multilateralism, embrace openness and inclusiveness, accelerate the expansion of RCEP membership to strengthen the regional cooperation platform, and actively promote the review and upgrade of the agreement to further unlock regional cooperation potential, thereby injecting stronger impetus into regional and global economic growth.
Read sourceRCEP Ministerial Meeting in Manila Advances Expansion and Upgrade Process
The fifth ministerial meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) since its entry into force was held on September 21 in Manila, Philippines. Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong attended and spoke. Participants exchanged views on regional and global economic conditions and the future direction of RCEP, reaffirming their commitment to an open, free, fair, and rules-based trade framework. They agreed to strengthen RCEP implementation, deepen trade and investment ties among members, and enhance regional economic resilience. The meeting welcomed the establishment of working groups for the accession of Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong (China), and Sri Lanka, advancing the RCEP expansion process. Participants also agreed to develop a joint scope document for RCEP upgrades, with the aim of launching the upgrade process at the 2027 RCEP ministerial meeting. In his remarks, Yan Dong stated that unilateralism and protectionism are rising, global economic growth momentum is insufficient, and uncertainty for economies is increasing. He called on all parties to uphold multilateralism, embrace openness and inclusiveness, accelerate RCEP expansion, strengthen the regional cooperation platform, and actively promote the review and upgrade of the agreement to further unleash regional cooperation potential and inject stronger impetus into regional and global economic growth.
Show 2 older updatesHide older updates
RCEP Fifth Ministerial Meeting Held in Manila, Discusses Expansion and Upgrade
The fifth ministerial meeting since the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was held on September 21 in Manila, Philippines. Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Yan Dong attended and delivered remarks. Participants exchanged views on regional and global economic conditions and the future direction of RCEP, reaffirming their commitment to an open, free, fair, and rules-based trading framework. They agreed to jointly strengthen RCEP implementation, deepen trade and investment ties among members, and enhance regional economic resilience. The meeting welcomed the establishment of working groups for the accession of new members including Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong (China), and Sri Lanka, advancing the RCEP expansion process. Ministers also decided to draft a Joint Scope Document for RCEP upgrade, with the expectation of announcing the launch of the upgrade process at the 2027 RCEP ministerial meeting. Yan Dong stated that amid rising unilateralism and protectionism and insufficient global growth momentum, parties should uphold multilateralism, accelerate RCEP expansion, strengthen the regional cooperation platform, and actively promote the review and upgrade of the agreement to unlock greater regional cooperation potential and inject stronger impetus into regional and global economic growth.
Read sourceRCEP Fifth Ministerial Meeting Held in Manila, China Calls for Expansion and Upgrade
The fifth ministerial meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) since its entry into force was held on September 21 in Manila, Philippines. Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yan Dong attended and delivered a speech. Yan stated that unilateralism and protectionism are rising, global economic growth momentum is insufficient, and uncertainties facing various economies continue to increase. He urged all parties to uphold multilateralism, embrace openness and inclusiveness, accelerate the RCEP expansion process, strengthen the regional cooperation platform, and actively promote the review and upgrade of the agreement to further unleash regional cooperation potential and inject stronger impetus into regional and global economic growth.
Read source