The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership  (《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》), or RCEP, is a new trade agreement that 15 countries — including China, Japan, South Korea and Australia — signed Nov. 15, 2020. It took effect for most of the member countries on January 1, 2022. Spearheaded by countries that are grouped in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the deal reflected RCEP’s all member countries’ interest in greater regional integration.

It is the first free trade agreement among the East Asian countries of China, Japan, and South Korea, three of the four largest economies in Asia. The deal covers 2.3 billion people accounting for $25.8 trillion in output, as well as $12.7 trillion in trade, according to the World Bank. It aims to phase out all import tariffs among signatory nations within 20 years and create common rules for intellectual property and e-commerce.

The RCEP agreement consists of a preamble, 20 chapters, and 4 market access annexes. As the agreement’s longest chapter, the eleventh chapter is dedicated to intellectual property, including 83 articles and the party-specific transition periods annex and the list of technical assistance requests annex.

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has formulated a list of 60 legally binding obligations and 25 non-legally binding provisions based on the RCEP Agreement related to patents, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications, genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and folklore.

The full text of the RCEP agreement is available here.