Speakers call for empowering younger generation in 15 member countries with creative skills

Youth have an important role to play in further advancing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the 15 member economies should continue to pool the strength of young people to advance regional development through the partnership, speakers said at a roundtable of the first RCEP Youth Dialogue on Friday.

The online event, organized by China Daily, the China Institute for Reform and Development and the China Oceanic Development Foundation, focused on young people's role in firmly advancing the RCEP process.

Li Ming, deputy director of the department of policy and planning at the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said China has always believed that young people are the driving force for development in international community and has encouraged and helped young people all over the world through foreign aid and international development cooperation.

Youth are the beneficiaries of as well as contributors to global development. Overcoming global challenges and promoting global development require more emphasis on the role of young people, promoting their growth and reliance on their strength to advance united, equal, balanced and mutually beneficial global development partnership, Li said.

He called for deepening North-South cooperation, South-South cooperation and third-party cooperation to ensure vulnerable and marginalized sections among youth can share an equal development opportunity, so that no country and no young people are left behind.

Guo Yanjun, director of the Institute of Asian Studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said the RCEP spans a region with a youthful population, so it is imperative socially and economically to empower youth with digital skills.

Digital technologies represent the most dynamic industry in the fourth industrial revolution. The digital empowering of youth requires introduction of the latest digital advancements so they could benefit and also promotion of their active participation in learning through creative competition, he said.

Education is also key to enhancing the role of youth in the RCEP member states, he said. It is important to build new digital educational infrastructure for youth, adopt new ideas, frameworks and standards of university management to accelerate students' digital learning, and develop and improve distant learning in rural areas and organize youth forums on smart education, he said.

Chen Yibing, an Olympic champion and associate researcher at Beijing Normal University, said without continuous open communication, progress in sports cannot be achieved and regional and international sports also cannot thrive, he said.

As the COVID-19 epidemic control measures became more sophisticated, new momentum is gathering for sports exchanges among RCEP member countries, he said.

Young people are the heart of sports and competitions, and in the post-pandemic world, more attention will be paid to health, so sports and fitness need further development, Chen said.

In recent years, sports communication activities between China and ASEAN countries have deepened the relations and serve as a platform for promoting friendship and common development, he said.

Shamin Zakaria, an Indian journalist at Xinhua News Agency, said the RCEP is set to become the world's largest export bloc, and the second-largest import destination, offering an opportunity to the young people of the member countries to become a part of a mega trade deal that can shape regional trade patterns and economic integration in the future.

The economy of a nation rests heavily on its capacity to plan for the future, educate its youth, and foster symbiosis in its region, he said.

"To the world, we must send the message that peace and cooperation are essential to economic development, and that these values must be instilled in our future generations so that they, too, can build upon our achievements and make the world a better place."

Wei Xi, an editorial board member at China News Service, said the RCEP can energize innovation and entrepreneurship among young people.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises can get access to markets in RCEP countries and even the whole world and realize quick development, so for young people in the region who want to start their own business, the RCEP provides a valuable opportunity, access to a vast market and broad development prospects, she said.

Media organizations should continue to promote and explain the RCEP and its benefits, so youth in member countries can better understand related rules and grasp the market opportunities presented by the agreement, she said.

More efforts are required to promote people-to-people exchanges of young people in RCEP member economies and the media should organize more events for young people to conduct in-depth discussions on regional and global issues, she said.