On August 26-27, 2025, Kuala Lumpur Roundtable on Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation of the Boao Forum for Asia was held under the theme of “Forging ahead Regional Cooperation for New Progress of Asia Pacific Integration”. On the afternoon of August 26, Session 1 titled “More Openness & Better Connectivity—the Future of Asia Pacific Integration” was held. The session was chaired by Zhang Jun, Secretary General of Boao Forum for Asia and Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary & Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations, with opening remark delivered by Datuk Prof. Dr. Mohd Faiz Abdullah, Chairman of Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia. Professor Chi Fulin, President of China Institute for Reform and Development (CIRD), was invited to attend the session and delivered a leading remark titled “Firmly Advancing Asian Economic Integration through RCEP”.

Professor Chi Fulin emphasized that RCEP, concluded after eight years of difficult negotiations, stands as a hard-won achievement. More than three years of implementation have demonstrated that, as the world’s largest free trade area, RCEP has already begun to release its initial dividends and plays an irreplaceable role in driving Asian economic integration. However, due to a complex mix of external and internal challenges, RCEP now stands at a critical crossroads where it must either advance or risk regression. Professor Chi underscored that firmly advancing an ASEAN-centered RCEP is the best option for Asia to adapt to trends, respond to challenges, and strengthen regional resilience.

Professor Chi emphasized that an ASEAN-centered RCEP plays an irreplaceable role in building a common regional market. Specifically: RCEP’s scale advantage is irreplaceable; its role in driving regional free trade is irreplaceable; its contribution to integrating regional industrial and supply chains is irreplaceable; and its function in constructing a unified regional market is irreplaceable. To firmly advance RCEP, the key lies in forging consensus among all member states. It is essential to promote rule upgrading, institutional improvement, deeper openness, and stronger governance in order to build a free trade area that is implementable, monitorable, enforceable, and governable. He called for joint efforts to accelerate RCEP’s transition from version 1.0 to 2.0, with a focus on upholding ASEAN centrality, advancing the China-Japan-ROK FTA negotiations, and achieving new breakthroughs in building a common regional market. Professor Chi further noted that China, as a huge market, will serve as a crucial driver for the development of RCEP regional market through its commitment to high-standard opening-up.

Prof. Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand; Juan Carlos Mathews, Former Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru; Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Former Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat and Director of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, Malaysia; Beata Stoczyńska, Executive Director of Asia-Europe Foundation; Sun Weidong, Secretary General of the China-Central Asia Format; Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Economic and Development Adviser to the Prime Minister of Nepal; Danial Andrews, Former Premier of Victoria, Australia; and Dr. Hul Seingheng, Under Secretary of State of the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation of Cambodia delivered leading or discussion remarks.

Attending the meeting from CIRD were: Yang Rui, Executive President of CIRD and President of RCEP Research Institute; Chen Wei and Kuang Xianming, Vice Presidents of CIRD; Guo Da, Executive President of Hainan Institute for Free Trade Port Studies (HIFTPS); Ong Chong Yi, Senior Researcher of HIFTPS; Liang Hui, Secretary-General of CIRD-GRANDALL Center of FTP Law Studies; and Wang Yuehong, Assistant Researcher of RCEP Research Institute, CIRD.