Development Proposals And Proposed Research Policies Under The New RCEP Regulations

(1) Analysis of the impact of RCEP on the petrochemical industry

1. From an investment perspective, the favorable impact of lower investment thresholds in member states

Domestically, because domestic foreign investment has already adopted the negative list access model, and the petrochemical industry-related industries are generally not on the negative list, from the perspective of foreign investment restrictions, the entry into force of RCEP has no obvious impact on foreign investment in the petrochemical industry. In addition, the further optimization of the domestic business environment will attract more foreign capital to enter, and strengthen the support for enterprises with high-end intellectual property rights to enter the country to engage in high-end manufacturing, which is conducive to enriching the high-end industrial chain.

In terms of foreign investment, the lowering of investment thresholds in Southeast Asian countries and the improvement of the business environment will help petrochemical enterprises to go global and expand overseas markets.

2. Adverse effects on the domestic industrial chain

Although the export of China's labor-intensive industry products or mid-to-high-end products will be boosted in the short term, on the one hand, due to the yearly increase in domestic labor costs, textiles, light industrial building materials, toys, and daily chemical products that are closely related to the petrochemical industry. The manufacturing side will further flow out of China and turn to ASEAN countries. This is a necessary stage for the transformation and upgrading of the domestic industry, but it is concentrated in the short term, which may cause social problems such as unemployment.

But on the other hand, because some industries were transferred to avoid trade barriers, after RCEP came into effect, the accumulation of rules of origin and the use of new technologies to promote customs facilitation have eliminated the inconvenience of trade to a certain extent, which can reduce the industry The risk of chain centralized transfer.

3. The favorable impact of lower trade barriers on the domestic petrochemical industry

The petrochemical industry has long existed structural contradictions of low-end excess and high-end shortage. As the world's largest chemical producer, China faces challenges such as resource competitiveness and excess production capacity. Midstream industries such as refining and chemical industries are faced with high-priced inventories in the early stage, and there is no way for products to go out. issues such as patency. The implementation of RCEP can reduce the export barriers of the petrochemical industry and alleviate the situation of excess resources to a certain extent.

The reduction of tariffs on imported petrochemical raw materials, such as naphtha, light cycle oil, etc., will reduce the production cost of domestic enterprises and promote the export of downstream products.

4. Adverse effects on the domestic petrochemical industry

Domestic high-end refining and chemical products, fine chemical products, etc., such as semiconductor materials, panel materials, solar cell materials, etc., are relatively scarce, and domestic enterprises lack competitiveness in the face of Japanese and Korean enterprises with mature technologies. The entry into force of RCEP will have an impact on domestic enterprises that have been striving to upgrade their industries and transform into high-end products in recent years.

Increasing the domestic market's dependence on imported products and technologies is not conducive to technological innovation and industry stability and security. If the price of imported high-tech petrochemical products is further reduced and the domestic market share is seized, the road of independent technological innovation of domestic enterprises will be hindered. Against the background of rising international trade protectionism and increasing trade frictions, over-reliance on foreign products and technologies from a single country will endanger the stability and security of the petrochemical industry.

(2) Proposed enterprise development proposals

We suggest that, in the face of the preemption of overseas products in the domestic market in the future, enterprises should increase investment in research and development as soon as possible to enhance the independent technical content of petrochemical products, especially in the key weak areas of relative protection by the state, and make full use of the time window before tariffs are greatly reduced , improve the core competitiveness to cope with market competition.

In addition, petrochemical enterprises should gradually develop refining and chemical integrated enterprises, and lay out the entire industrial chain to improve the efficiency of resource integration and competitive advantage, and improve the efficiency of enterprises.

Finally, companies should adhere to the strategy of going global, especially in response to the growing consumer demand in ASEAN countries, take advantage of the advantages brought by RCEP, and combine external marketing and foreign investment to seize the potential markets of Southeast Asian countries.

(3) Response policies to be studied

1. All domestic departments should promote the approval process of RCEP as soon as possible, and issue supporting implementation policies

At present, RCEP has not yet come into effect in China. On December 1, 2020, Premier Li Keqiang stated that the first is to strengthen inter-departmental coordination and accelerate the completion of domestic approval procedures. The second is to take measures to implement the agreement as soon as possible in terms of tariff concessions, simplification of customs procedures, technical preparation of rules of origin, unification of product standards and mutual recognition. The third is to promptly sort out and improve the rules and regulations related to the implementation of the agreement, ensure that the binding obligations stipulated in the agreement are implemented in place, and ensure that domestic administrative measures and procedures are compliant. The fourth is to strengthen the publicity and training of the agreement implementation for local governments, business associations and enterprises, so that all parties, especially the majority of enterprises, are familiar with and master the agreement rules [14].

2. Increase investment in technological innovation and talent training in the petrochemical industry

The tendentious support of national policies is a favorable impetus for technological innovation and progress, and the incentives for scientific research achievements should be increased to speed up the process of talent training.

3. Promote bilateral consultations with RCEP member countries and strengthen bilateral cooperation in the region

Taking RCEP as a platform and opportunity, strengthen one-to-one communication with other member states, strengthen intra-regional trade cooperation, and promote domestic excess capacity to the outside world; promote bilateral trade agreement negotiations with Japan.

4. Further improve the domestic business environment

The improvement of the business environment will help attract high-end enterprises to enter the country and promote the self-improvement of domestic enterprises. At the same time, it will help to slow down the speed of industrial chain transfer to ASEAN countries.

5. Guarantee the independent supply of domestic oil resources

In the context of the accelerated entry of foreign petroleum products into the domestic market, the state should guarantee the independent supply of domestic petroleum resources and ensure national energy security.