SHI JIELIAN, foreign trade manager of Guangxi Yongjiang Food Industry Co., obtained the 13th certificate of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) for her firm this year, as she received an electronic invoice of “approval” from the Nanning Customs in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

“This certificate was applied for a batch of export goods to Japan and it can reduce our Japanese client’s import tariff from 2.5% to 2.2%,” Shi said.

Tariff reductions under the RCEP enabled the firm’s products to have greater price advantages and benefited the negotiation of trade contracts with overseas customers, Shi said.

The RCEP, which entered into force Jan. 1, 2022, comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including 10 ASEAN member states and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

China’s foreign trade jumped 9.4% year on year to 19.8 trillion yuan (US$2.94 trillion) during the first half of the year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

From January to June, China’s trade with Belt and Road countries and RCEP member states soared 17.8% and 5.6 % year on year, respectively.

In the first half, the Nanning Customs issued 760 certificates of origin under the RCEP, with a value of 377 million yuan.

Nanning Qiaohong New Materials Co. was the first company to apply for RCEP certificates of origin in Guangxi. As of June 30, the firm had obtained 42 RCEP certificates of origin.

“Tariff reduction under the RCEP has greatly boosted our exports, and improved the international competitiveness of our products,” said Chen Wen, manager of the firm’s marketing department.

Chen said that in the first six months of this year, the firm exported nearly 5 million yuan of products to Japan, up 34 times year on year.

Speaking at the 12th Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation Forum held in Nanning, capital of Guangxi, earlier this month, Jurin Laksanawisit, Thai deputy prime minister and commerce minister, said that under the framework of the RCEP agreement, Thai exporters had applied for RCEP certificates of origin worth US$204 million from January to April this year.

Jurin said that Thailand had imported goods with a total value of US$72.3 million by utilizing the preferential policies under the RCEP agreement in the same period.

“The RCEP will serve as a tool to reduce the impact of shifting global geopolitics and the COVID-19 pandemic while driving regional economic growth. It will enable ASEAN and Chinese firms to conduct business in a transparent and clear environment, simplify customs clearance procedures and facilitate trade and economic exchanges,” he said.

“Under the RCEP agreement, the overall volume of zero-tariff products will exceed 90%, and the level of service trade and investment access improved significantly, bringing new opportunities to all parties,” said Long Guoqiang, deputy head of the Development Research Center of the State Council.

(Xinhua)