Indonesia could play a prominent role in negotiations in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) if the country improves its competitive edge, a Trade Ministry official has said.
"I believe if Indonesia can create a stable democracy, a productive labor force, and master the technology to handle jobs with high technology in such a way that it can supply (workers) to technology companies that will invest in Indonesia, the country will play a prominent role in RCEP and global trade," director general of international trade negotiations at the Trade Ministry, Iman Pambagyo, said at a seminar on the RCEP agreement here on Tuesday.
As the world's second largest economy, China will not dominate RCEP because in the context of the present global trade, several companies or countries will not excessively depend on one country alone, he observed.
This will likely occur if countries learn from the US-China trade war that has had a significant impact on trade and business in many countries, he said.
"Countries will see how important they are to leave their excessive dependence on one country. Looking ahead, I see the trend will be getting stronger," he remarked.
RCEP is a comprehensive free-trade partnership between 10 ASEAN member states and five partner countries — China, South Korea, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
RCEP member states account for almost a third of the global population and 20 percent of the world's gross domestic product.
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