North MacedoniaThe joint procurement agreement among RCEP member countries was signed

Progress and Mechanism Construction of the Joint Procurement Agreement among RCEP Member States (2025)

I. ‌ Cooperation framework and implementation mechanism ‌

Government procurement coordination mechanism ‌

Chapter 16 of the RCEP clearly requires member states to enhance the transparency of government procurement and strengthen cooperation. In May 2025, the 9th meeting of the RCEP Joint Committee further proposed the establishment of a "Joint Procurement Working Group" to promote the formation of standardized procurement processes in infrastructure, energy and other fields among member states.

Key areas ‌ : The first batch of pilot projects focus on cross-border joint tenders for clean energy equipment (such as photovoltaic modules, energy storage systems) and digital infrastructure (such as 5G base stations, data center equipment).

Rule alignment and mutual recognition ‌

China has reached mutual recognition agreements on electronic certification for government procurement with developed member countries such as Japan and Australia, shortening the review period for supplier qualifications to seven working days.

Establish a fast-track for resolving disputes in RCEP government procurement, and shorten the arbitration period to within 90 days.

Ii. Youdaoplaceholder0 Joint procurement Practice case ‌

Project name, participation in national procurement content and scale, Implementation effect

Asean Smart Grid Programme ‌ China, Singapore and Malaysia purchase 2 million smart meters, total amount $1.5 billion China wins 65%, cost reduction 18%

Cross-regional medical supplies reserve ‌ China, Japan, South Korea and the six ASEAN countries establish an emergency medical equipment sharing warehouse covering 10 types of supplies including ventilators to complete the allocation of the first batch of $800 million of equipment in Q1 2025

Iii. Youdaoplaceholder0 Enterprise participation in path optimization ‌

Mutual Recognition of Qualifications ‌ : Through RCEP rules of origin, member enterprises can participate in multi-country government procurement with a single certification, and the cost of preparing tender documents will be reduced by 40%.

Digital platform access to ‌ :

China's "Government Procurement Cloud" platform has achieved data intercommunication with the ASEAN Government Procurement Network, enabling suppliers to simultaneously obtain over $30 billion in annual procurement demands from 15 countries.

Japan has launched a multilingual automatic translation system for tender documents to eliminate language barriers.

Iv. Youdaoplaceholder0 Challenges and Coping Strategies ‌

Standard differences ‌ : To address the issue of inconsistent technical standards among member countries, the RCEP Coordinating Committee on Technical Specifications for Government Procurement will be established and the first five general standards will be released by the end of 2025.

Support for smes ‌ :

Set up a "Special Package for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises" in joint procurement, with a maximum contract amount of $5 million per contract and reserve a 30% share.

The Export-Import Bank of China offers special low-interest loans with an interest rate 1.2 percentage points lower than the market rate.

The RCEP joint procurement mechanism, through the synergy of ‌ rules, digital empowerment and breakthroughs in key areas ‌, is becoming a core driver for the reconfiguration of regional supply chains. From January to April 2025, the cross-border transaction volume of government procurement among member states soared by 72% year-on-year, and it is expected to exceed 120 billion US dollars for the whole year.