"The three major areas of goods trade, services trade and investment will be greatly enhanced among the participating countries, thus also strongly boosting the cultural and people-to-people exchanges among the countries," Yu told Xinhua.

The RCEP will also promote trade liberalization in the region, further entrenching the region's importance to economic growth and global trade. "All sides will benefit from this pact when it becomes a reality," Cambodian Ministry of Commerce Undersecretary of State and Spokesman Seang Thay said.

According to Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, the RCEP will open a new door of opportunity for the least developed countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar in the bloc.

The end result of the RCEP will be the largest "win-win agreement and partnership of its own kind that has never been reached in the world," he said.

Counter protectionism

Chheang Vannarith, president of the Phnom Penh-based Asian Vision Institute, said the RCEP embeds both economic and strategic principles between ASEAN and the six countries, and it will contribute to promoting a multilateral trading system.

"It will be a big push to counter protectionism and unilateralism," he told Xinhua.

Mey Kalyan, a senior advisor to Cambodia's Supreme National Economic Council, said the conclusion of the RCEP will definitely have great importance at a time when the world economy is losing its balance due to uncertainty, protectionism and unilateralism.

"The RCEP is expected to bring a sense of certainty and normalcy, although it will still have only a small impact at its early stage," he said.

Aaron Jed Rabena, a research fellow at the Manila-based think tank Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, told Xinhua that the conclusion of negotiations and the implementation of the RCEP will open up new alternative markets for the participating countries and help them ward off protectionist measures.

"It (RCEP) is not just a testament to liberalized trade among ASEAN members and partners. It is also a proof that many countries are in support of freer trade, an open global economy, and uphold the credibility of international regimes," Rabena said.

"RCEP will have a significant effect in shaping the present world economy by ensuring that more countries through a multilateral FTA still prefer or are committed to liberalized trade," Rabena added. 

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