Since coming into effect at the beginning of this year, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has shown great potential in facilitating regional economic integration, said Liu Jin, president of the Bank of China (BOC), on Tuesday at a parallel forum titled "RCEP Kickoff: Embark on a New Journey to Asian Cooperation" during the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2022 running from Nov. 21-23.

(File photo: Xinhua)

The trade between RCEP members and the rest of the world has grown rapidly, with most members registering double-digit growth in their trade with other RCEP countries, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.

According to Liu, the BOC has been actively offering financial support to promote regional integration and development. He noted that in the first nine months of this year, the BOC processed more than 400 billion yuan ($56 billion) of cross-border RMB settlements with other RCEP members, and provided more than $250 billion in settlement services for trade in goods among RCEP economies.

The president also called for joint efforts with other stakeholders to develop RCEP into a well-established free trade area, for the stability and development of Asia.