RCEP is a great opportunity for young people | Daily News Byte

The speakers call for the empowerment of the younger generation in the 15 member countries with creative skills

Youth have an important role in the further development of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the 15 member economies should continue to combine the strength of youth to advance regional development through partnership, said speakers at the round table of the first RCEP Youth Dialogue on Friday.

The online event, organized by China Daily, the China Institute for Reform and Development and the China Ocean Development Foundation, focused on the role of youth in solidly advancing the RCEP process.

Li Ming, deputy director of the policy and planning department at the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said China has always believed that young people are the driving force of development in the international community and has encouraged and helped young people around the world through foreign aid and international development. cooperation.

Young people are beneficiaries as well as contributors to global development. Overcoming global challenges and promoting global development require more emphasis on the role of young people, promoting their growth and relying on their strength to promote a united, equal, balanced and mutually beneficial global development partnership, Li said.

He called for deepening North-South cooperation, South-South cooperation and cooperation with third parties to ensure that the vulnerable and marginalized sections of the youth share an equal chance of development, so that no country and no young people are left behind.

Guo Yangjun, director of the Institute of Asian Studies at the Foreign Affairs University of China, said RCEP encompasses a region with a young population, so it is socially and economically imperative to empower young people with digital skills.

Digital technologies represent the most dynamic industry in the fourth industrial revolution. Digitally empowering the youth requires introducing the latest digital developments to benefit them and promoting their active participation in learning through creative competition, he said.

Education is also key to strengthening the role of youth in RCEP member countries, he said. It is important to build a new digital education infrastructure for young people, adopt new ideas, frameworks and university management standards to accelerate students’ digital learning, develop and improve distance learning in rural areas and organize youth forums on smart education, he said.

Chen Yibing, an Olympic champion and research associate at Beijing Normal University, said that without continuous open communication, progress in sports cannot be achieved, and regional and international sports cannot progress, he said.

As measures to control the COVID-19 epidemic have become more sophisticated, new momentum is gathering for sports exchanges among RCEP member countries, he said.

Young people are the heart of sports and competition, and in the post-pandemic world, more attention will be paid to health, so sports and fitness need further development, Chen said.

In recent years, sports communication activities between China and ASEAN countries have deepened relations and serve as a platform to promote friendship and common development, he said.

Shamin Zakaria, an Indian journalist for Xinhua News Agency, said that RCEP will become the world’s largest export bloc and second largest import destination, offering an opportunity for young people of member countries to become part of a mega trade agreement that can shape regional trade patterns and economic integration in the future.

A nation’s economy rests heavily on its ability to plan for the future, educate its youth and foster symbiosis in its region, he said.

“We must send a message to the world that peace and cooperation are essential for economic development and that these values ​​must be instilled in our future generations so that they too can build on our achievements and make the world a better place.” “

Wei Xi, a member of the editorial board of China News Service, said that RCEP can encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among young people.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises can gain access to the markets of RCEP countries and even the whole world and achieve rapid development, so that young people in the region who want to start their own business, RCEP provides a valuable opportunity, access to a huge market and broad development prospects, she said.

Media organizations should continue to promote and explain RCEP and its benefits, so that youth in member countries can better understand the related rules and realize the market opportunities offered by the agreement, she said.

More efforts should be made to promote people-to-people exchanges among young people in RCEP member economies, and the media should organize more events for young people to have in-depth discussions on regional and global issues, she said.