Opinion   Regional economic integration may deepen amid geopolitical tensions

As the U.S. administration under Donald Trump seeks to remodel global free trade into a zero-sum game, the role of regional economic mechanism has become more prominent, said Cai Tongjuan, Director of the Macro Research Department and Research Fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies (RDCY), in a recent interview with China Youth Daily.

For example, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is currently the largest free trade zone in the world. Cai suggested that RCEP should be used to deepen regional economic integration. As the world's largest free trade agreement, RCEP covers the ten ASEAN countries and 15 member countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Cai said that through RCEP, China should, firstly, further expand diversified markets, reduce tariff barriers, promote regional trade liberalization, reduce dependence on a single market, and thus diversify external risks; secondly, optimize the layout of the industrial chain, strengthen cooperation with member countries on the supply chain and value chain, and enhance the stability and competitiveness of the regional industrial chain; meanwhile, promote institutional opening through unified rules and standards, aiming to improve the level of trade facilitation and create a more open and fair business environment.

Photo by CFP

Cai also mentioned the BRICS cooperation mechanism, which can be used to strengthen cooperation in the Global South. The BRICS cooperation mechanism provides an important cooperation platform for emerging markets and developing countries. Under this framework, China can actively promote the establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) of the BRICS countries, provide financial support to member countries, and enhance their ability to withstand financial risks.

By advocating the use of local currencies for trade settlement, BRICS can help member countries reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar, reduce the risks caused by exchange rate fluctuations, thus promoting the expansion of the BRICS countries, attracting more developing countries to participate, and building a fairer and more reasonable global governance system.

In addition, Cai added that promoting multilateral cooperation is effective in responding to external challenges. By working with other countries to formulate policies to respond to external shocks, the regional countries can form a common force and enhance the stability of the regional and global economy. Paying attention to the needs of developing countries and advocating inclusive development will promote the global economic governance system to develop in a fairer and more reasonable direction. (By Ma Ziqian/China Youth Daily)

来源：中国青年报客户端