Paper Review. "Comparison of CPTPP and RCEP Service Trade Rules and China's Service Industry Opening Strategy"
Topic: Comparison of CPTPP and RCEP Service Trade Rules and China's Service Industry Opening Strategy
Author: Quan Yi (Institute of Asia-pacific Economics, Fujian Academy of Social Sciences)
Reference: Quan, Y. (2021). Comparison of CPTPP and RCEP Service Trade Rules and China's Service Industry Opening Strategy. World Economy Studies(12),30-41+85+132. doi:10.13516/j.cnki.wes.2021.12.002.
This paper focuses on the differences between the CPTPP and RCEP in financial services and telecommunications services, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of China's joining the CPTPP to China's service industry. The CPTPP sets independent chapter for financial service trade and gives different treatment to the commercial presence and the cross-border trade of financial services. CPTPP’s financial service trade negotiation adopts the mixed mode of positive list and negative list, adopting the positive list mode in terms of "definition", "scope" and "market access" of financial services, while adopting the negative list mode in terms of "national treatment", "non-conformity measures" and "exception". While the RCEP follows the legislative style of WTO/GATS, presenting financial services and telecommunications services as annexes to trade in services and making no distinction between commercial presence (investment) and cross-border trade services. RCEP’s negotiations also adopt a mixture of positive list and negative list models, but these two approaches are reflected in different countries respectively. The commitment level of the negative list countries is basically the same as CPTPP, while the commitment level of the positive list countries is relatively low. In addition, CPTPP and RCEP hold different attitudes towards the definition of public goods such as telecommunications infrastructure and the marketization of public goods. Taking the telecommunications service chapter – "International Maritime transport System", as an example, CPTPP carries out market-oriented treatment on international maritime transport, that is, agreeing to the connection of different telecom providers, while RCEP recognizes it as a public good and gives reasonable and non-discriminatory treatment to telecom networks or service providers on this basis.
If China joined CPTPP, how China's service industry will be affected:
- from the point of advantages: 1) to promote the development of China's service trade openness and related industries, and 2) to promote China's service trade laws and management system, 3) to help China build high quality of the market economy, 4) to get rid of the decoupling threat and strategic containment of the USA, make China better situation in globalization.
- from the perspective of disadvantages: 1) trade in services mainly involves measures within the border, which will put pressure on domestic legal system adjustment; 2) it also involves the free flow of data and network security; 3) the operation and development of state-owned enterprises will be restricted; 4) the opening of trade in services also involves industrial impact and damage.
