Cambodia-RCEP-CCFTA-ROUNDUP

Aerial photo taken on June 24, 2022, shows the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway project in Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia. (Photo by Li Zhen/Xinhua)

The RCEP and the CCFTA, both took effect on Jan. 1, 2022, have injected a vital impetus to Cambodia’s trade growth and helped Cambodia diversify its exports and further integrate into regional and global economy, said Cambodian officials and experts.

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — One year on, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) have injected a vital impetus to Cambodia’s trade growth in the post COVID-19 pandemic era, an official and experts said.

Cambodia’s trade with RCEP member countries was valued at 24 billion U.S. dollars during the January-September period of 2022, up 11 percent year-on-year, while the kingdom’s bilateral trade with China also increased in the past year, a government report showed.

Aerial photo taken on June 24, 2022, shows the operation center of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway project in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Photo by Li Zhen/Xinhua)

Cambodian Ministry of Commerce Undersecretary of State and Spokesman Penn Sovicheat said Cambodia’s 2022 trade growth is moderate because the kingdom and other countries alike have just recovered from the COVID-19 crisis, but he believes that the growth will be higher in 2023 and beyond thanks to the RCEP and CCFTA deals.

“Both RCEP and the CCFTA are catalysts for our long-term and…