Media, youth called on to play wider role in promoting bloc's trade deal

Media platforms and practitioners will continue focusing on the impact that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement is having on businesses and people and encourage the younger generation to become more engaged so that they can benefit from it, experts and media officials said.

They made the remarks at a parallel forum under the 2023 RCEP Media & Think Tank Forum on Sunday. The forum discussions focused on how the media can fully play its role in promoting the RCEP.

Hu Zhengrong, dean of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' School of Journalism and Communication, said that media platforms in all RCEP countries play a critical role in promoting the development of the economic bloc.

"We should see this as a process of secondary empowerment. For example, media platforms can focus on the economy and figure out how to tell China's economic story better. This is something that Chinese media should discuss and research in the next step," he said.

Wei Jianhua, deputy director of global service at China's Xinhua News Agency, noted that it's important to recognize that the RCEP is a practical collaboration that includes various economies in the Asia-Pacific region amid the anti-globalization trend, and it is a new milestone in efforts to build a large, unified market.

He said that while economic globalization is currently faced with obstacles, the RCEP is a resounding response to the trend of "slow globalization".

"Against such a backdrop, the RCEP agreement has injected greater confidence in globalization and has strengthened momentum in the world economy," Wei said. "Compared to trade agreements dominated by developed countries, the RCEP is more inclusive by taking into account the different interests and demands of both developed and emerging economies. All member countries share the dividends unleashed by the RCEP."

Juliet Labog-Javellana, associate publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said that now that the RCEP agreement is in force, information about it will be critical to its success and acceptance. One important mission for media practitioners in RCEP countries is to understand how the newly implemented agreement will impact their personal lives and benefit them.

"It's important to help citizens better understand how the RCEP will affect their lives, be it through jobs, affordable and quality goods, better technology, bigger markets, et cetera," she said. "It's important to get the younger generation involved in the RCEP, to generate awareness among young entrepreneurs, the digital and technology professionals about the opportunities for growth in the RCEP."

Her views were echoed at the forum by Wong Chun Wai, an adviser at Star Media Group in Malaysia, adding that to tell good RCEP stories, media workers should better understand the agreement.

"Specifically, we expect to see more English content and stories shared about the RCEP so that readers in all RCEP countries will understand," he said. "We also need to have information and news stories that are more people-oriented."