This photo taken on May 5, 2023 shows the venue for the First Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo in Huaihua City, central China's Hunan Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has deepened trade and investment cooperation among its members since it came into force three years ago, and has effectively consolidated the fundamentals of China's foreign trade, China's Commerce Ministry spokesperson He Yadong said on Thursday.

He made the comments at a regular press conference several days after the third anniversary of the implementation of the RCEP, which fell on Jan. 1 this year.

As the non-ASEAN rotating chair of RCEP in 2024, China worked to facilitate new members in joining the pact, He said, adding that China's Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Chile have submitted formal applications to join RCEP, while other economies have shown strong interest.

Since it came into force in 2022, the RCEP has helped deepen regional economic integration, He said. In 2023, the trade volume within the RCEP region totaled 5.6 trillion U.S. dollars, and the amount of green-field investment attracted by the region was 2.2 times that of 2021.

From January to November in 2024, China's trade in goods with RCEP members reached 12 trillion yuan (about 1.67 trillion U.S. dollars), an increase of 4.4 percent year on year.

The RCEP is the free-trade agreement with the largest participating population in the world, as well as the largest economic and trade scale, and the greatest development potential, He said.

He added that China, the largest economy in RCEP, will continue to implement the RCEP comprehensively and with high quality, and make greater contributions to promoting Asia-Pacific economic integration and achieving regional common development and prosperity.

The RCEP comprises 15 countries, including 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

According to a study conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the RCEP is expected to increase the incomes of member economies by 0.6 percent by 2030, adding 245 billion U.S. dollars annually to regional income and 2.8 million jobs to regional employment.