RCEP - Regional, comprehensive economic partnership

The RCEP is a free trade zone in Eastern Asia and Australia, established in November 2020. It was initiated by China and accounts for around one third of the world's economic output. It is one of the largest free trade agreements in the world. The 15 participating countries cover an area of 22.54 million km² and a population of around 2.27 billion. This corresponds to approximately 14.97% of the earth's habitable surface and 29.54% of the world's population.

The agreement primarily involves the reduction of customs duties and is thus intended to simplify supply chains. In addition to the movement of goods, it also covers services, investments, telecommunications and copyright.

Country	Region	Area	Population
Australia	Australia/New Zealand	7,741,000 km²	25.36 M
Brunei	Southeast Asia	5,770 km²	0.43 M
Burma	Southeast Asia	677,000 km²	54.05 M
Cambodia	Southeast Asia	181,000 km²	16.49 M
China	East Asia	9,563,000 km²	1,397.72 M
Indonesia	Southeast Asia	1,914,000 km²	270.63 M
Japan	East Asia	378,000 km²	126.26 M
Laos	Southeast Asia	237,000 km²	7.17 M
Malaysia	Southeast Asia	330,000 km²	31.95 M
New Zealand	Australia/New Zealand	268,000 km²	4.92 M
Philippines	Southeast Asia	300,000 km²	108.12 M
Singapore	Southeast Asia	719 km²	5.70 M
South Korea	East Asia	100,000 km²	51.71 M
Thailand	Southeast Asia	513,000 km²	69.63 M
Vietnam	Southeast Asia	331,000 km²	96.46 M

Dependent territories

Some of the above member states have other dependent outlying areas. These are not independent states, but they do have some economic and political autonomy. The treaties concluded by the RCEP apply to them at least in part. However, these countries are not listed as official member states.

Country	Region	Dependency
Christmas Island	Australia/New Zealand	nicht selbstregiertes Territorium Australiens
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Australia/New Zealand	nicht selbstregiertes Territorium Australiens
Heard Island and McDonald Islands	Australia/New Zealand	Territory of Australia
Hong Kong	East Asia	Sonderverwaltungszone Chinas
Macao	East Asia	Sonderverwaltungszone Chinas
Norfolk Island	Australia/New Zealand	Territorium Australiens
Taiwan	East Asia	Territory of China
Tokelau	Polynesia	Territorium Neuseelands