THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON FACILITATING CROSS BORDER PAPERLESS TRADE IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, INITIATED BY THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (UNESCAP), HAS RECENTLY COME INTO EFFECT. THIS IS THE FIRST MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT IN THE FIELD OF CROSS-BORDER PAPERLESS TRADE UNDER THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK, WHICH WILL FACILITATE THE ENTRY OF GOODS FROM ASIA PACIFIC MEMBERS INTO EACH OTHER'S MARKETS.THE AGREEMENT STARTED NEGOTIATIONS IN APRIL 2015 AND WAS COMPLETED IN MAY 2016. NEARLY 30 MEMBERS OF THE ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION, INCLUDING CHINA, RUSSIA, SOUTH KOREA, INDIA, AND INDONESIA, HAVE SUCCESSIVELY JOINED. AT PRESENT, THE AGREEMENT HAS COME INTO EFFECT FOR FIVE FOUNDING CONTRACTING PARTIES THAT HAVE COMPLETED DOMESTIC APPROVAL, INCLUDING CHINA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND BANGLADESH.THE AGREEMENT CONSISTS OF 25 CLAUSES, MAINLY COVERING THE POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR TRADE FACILITATION, CROSS-BORDER PAPERLESS TRADE FACILITATION, AND MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF TRADE DATA AND DOCUMENTS IN ELECTRONIC FORM. THE AGREEMENT REQUIRES ALL PARTIES INVOLVED TO EXCHANGE TRADE DATA AND DOCUMENTS IN ELECTRONIC FORM BY UTILIZING EXISTING OR CREATING NEW CROSS-BORDER PAPERLESS TRADE SYSTEMS, PARTICULARLY ENCOURAGING ALL PARTIES TO ACCELERATE THE CONSTRUCTION OF A "SINGLE WINDOW" SYSTEM AND USE IT FOR CROSS-BORDER PAPERLESS TRADE; PROMOTE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CROSS-BORDER MUTUAL RECOGNITION MECHANISMS FOR ELECTRONIC TRADE DATA AND DOCUMENTS AMONG MEMBERS, AND ALLOW MEMBERS TO ENTER INTO BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION ARRANGEMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTING CROSS-BORDER MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF ELECTRONIC TRADE DATA AND DOCUMENTS.THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION, SHAHBANA, STATED THAT CROSS-BORDER PAPERLESS TRADE HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR PROMOTING GLOBAL TRADE DEVELOPMENT. THIS AGREEMENT CAN HELP MOST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION REDUCE TRADE COSTS BY MORE THAN 20%. I HOPE MORE COUNTRIES CAN PARTICIPATE AND PROMOTE REGIONAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY AFTER THE EPIDEMICPARK SHIN YANG, HEAD OF THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND REGIONAL COOPERATION DEPARTMENT OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, STATED THAT IN RECENT YEARS, SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN SIMPLIFYING TRADE PROCEDURES AND PROMOTING TRADE FACILITATION IN THE ASIAN REGION. HOWEVER, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MEASURES IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES VARIES, WITH LESS THAN 40% OF ECONOMIES IN THE REGION IMPLEMENTING CROSS-BORDER PAPERLESS TRADE MEASURES, SUCH AS THE USE OF ELECTRONIC CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN. THEREFORE, THE INTRODUCTION OF THIS AGREEMENT IS VERY TIMELY AND HAS PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE.THE PHILIPPINES WAS THE FIRST COUNTRY IN THE ASEAN REGION TO JOIN THE AGREEMENT. LOPEZ, THE EDITOR IN CHIEF OF ASIA BUSINESS WEEK IN THE PHILIPPINES, TOLD OUR REPORTER THAT THE PAPERLESS LEVEL OF CROSS-BORDER TRADE IN THE PHILIPPINES HAS NOT BEEN HIGH FOR A LONG TIME. AFTER JOINING THE AGREEMENT, THE PHILIPPINES' CROSS-BORDER TRADE IS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY, AND REDUCE TRADE COSTS. LOPEZ BELIEVES THAT IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION, THIS AGREEMENT WILL FURTHER ENRICH THE CONTENT OF COOPERATION IN JOINTLY BUILDING THE "THE BELT AND ROAD" AND ENHANCE CONNECTIVITY IN TRADE.