The role of economic diplomacy in ASEAN’s evolving trade and investment landscape – features of the RCEP

The dynamic evolution of the ASEAN's economic diplomacy, profoundly influenced by the regional context, has followed the broader international economic patterns, without neglecting or overlooking its inherent characteristics. Undoubtedly, endowed with its increasing strategic global influence and its role in fostering regional integration, ASEAN's economic diplomacy deserves our attention, especially if we take into consideration that empirical research studies reveal the positive impact of ASEAN's membership and that diplomatic engagement can have a positive impact on economic outcomes. Therefore, this article presents the main findings on the ASEAN's economic diplomacy, highlighting their distinct strategies, actions and policies, while also examining the RCEP as a key milestone in the evolution of ASEAN's economic diplomacy. The aim is to contribute to the comprehension of the main drivers and the prevailing trends of ASEAN's economic diplomacy, which, given the region's growing significance in the global trade and international landscape, can provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners. In order to analyse and synthesise the existing knowledge, the methodology employed in this paper consists of a systematic literature review of the relevant scientific papers on the subject. Nevertheless, even though the theoretical and empirical literature on the impact of economic diplomacy in ASEAN and, especially, on the impact of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is still emerging, the results highlight a positive impact in trade and investments.