Photo taken on March 2, 2022 shows a container terminal of Qinzhou Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)
BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) entered into force in the Philippines on June 2, and since then, the mega free trade agreement has been fully effective for all 15 member countries, bringing new opportunities to foreign trade enterprises.
Relevant data showed that China's imports and exports with other RCEP member countries registered 4.12 trillion yuan in the January-April period this year, up 7.3 percent year on year and accounting for 30.9 percent of China's total foreign trade.
-- Broader stage
The RCEP was signed in November 2020 and entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022. At present, the dividends brought by the trade pact are being released at a faster pace.
At the Wumart stores in Beijing, there are rich commodities imported from RCEP member countries, including New Zealand milk, Malaysian snacks, facial cleansers from the Republic of Korea (ROK), Thai durians, etc.
Behind the longer and longer shelves, there is a wider and wider stage. Dozens of Wumart stores across the country have recently held fruit festivals to display fruits imported from RCEP member countries to consumers, with positive feedback received, according to Wumart spokesperson Xu Lina.
With the full implementation of the RCEP, Wumart is expected to purchase goods from RCEP member countries with lower prices, and the customs clearance time may also be further reduced, noted Xu.
While imported goods are pouring in, export enterprises in China are also expanding overseas presence rapidly.
In the first five months this year, the Shanghai Customs had issued 34,300 RCEP Certificates of Origin, with the goods value hitting 11.772 billion yuan. Shanghai Shenhuo Aluminum Foil Co., Ltd. is one of the beneficiaries.
The company had applied for 1,058 Certificates of Origin for exports to RCEP member countries last year, with the goods value reaching nearly 67 million U.S. dollars, and the aluminum foil products of the company will enter the RCEP markets at a faster speed with lower prices with the full implementation of the trade pact, said Mei Xiaojun, a head for foreign trade with the company.
There are also new opportunities in the trade services sector.
The full implementation of the RCEP will help accelerate the integration of regional industrial and supply chains, reduce risks and uncertainties in international trade, and provide strong driving force for regional economic development, said Qian Feng, an executive with Centre Testing International Co., Ltd. (CTI).
During the process, China's inspection and testing institutions will get more opportunities to communicate with overseas, strengthen cooperation with relevant countries in scientific and technological innovation, quality standards and mutual recognition of information among other fields, and further realize "one testing result suitable for all", Qian added.
According to Qian, in recent years, the company has increased investment in medicine and health, new material testing and other fields, with more than 150 laboratories setting up in more than 90 cities globally, and in this process, RCEP member countries are the focus of the company's new investment.
-- Better services
To ensure efficient benefits for foreign trade enterprises, China's customs authorities actively build an RCEP precision service system, optimizing customs clearance processes and cutting customs clearance costs to help enterprises explore the RCEP markets.
Some customs authorities formulate benefit schemes for enterprises by leveraging big data analysis.
After the RCEP came into effect, the Qingdao Customs discovered through data analysis that the company did not fully enjoy the benefits brought by the trade pact, and took the initiative to formulate a plan to help it apply for tariff concessions from foreign parties, said Wang Jiashun, head for international business with Qingdao Countree Food Co., Ltd.
It is expected that this year, raw materials like pineapple and pineapple juice imported by the company from ASEAN countries will increase by over 15 percent year on year, with its exports by 10 to 15 percent, added Wang.
The RCEP has effectively integrated the bilateral free trade agreements China signed with ASEAN, ROK, Australia and New Zealand, and expanded the cumulative scope of origin, introduced Bi Haijun, an official from the Qingdao Customs, noting that in practice, more than one tariff rate can be applied to a particular commodity, and to this end, the Qingdao Customs will provide benefit scheme design and other services for import and export enterprises to ensure that they can enjoy the maximum benefits of openness.
Some customs authorities actively promote the RCEP tariff policies to help enterprises optimize export layouts.
Since the beginning of this year, the Guangzhou Customs has actively popularized the RCEP tariff policies, and taken the initiative to help enterprises make full use of RCEP tariff concessions, cumulative rules of origin and other dividends to explore the RCEP markets, said Liao Xiuping, chairman assistant with Guangdong Deluxe METAL Products Co., Limited, adding that with the increased demand from the RCEP markets, the company is optimistic that its exports throughout the year will continue to grow.
Some customs authorities promote self-printing of Certificates of Origin and the intelligent audit mode to help enterprises reduce costs.
Dongfang Turbine Co., Ltd. is an important clean energy equipment manufacturing enterprise in China, and it became the first approved exporter of the RCEP in the manufacturing equipment sector in southwest China's Sichuan Province in May last year. As an approved exporter, the company can issue a declaration of origin at any time according to specific shipment arrangements, greatly shortening the processing time of the Certificates of Origin.
After the RCEP came into effect, the Chengdu Customs took the initiative to provide the company with all-round policy guidance and help it complete the identification of "approved exporter", said Zeng Mingjing, head for international business with the company, adding that as the RCEP enters the new stage of full implementation, tariff concessions will be further strengthened, which provides opportunities for the company to carry out deeper industrial chain integration with relevant countries.
-- More confidence
Data showed that from January to May this year, ASEAN was China's largest trading partner, with the total trade value with China recording 2.59 trillion yuan, up 9.9 percent year on year, confirming from one side the new impetus brought by the RCEP to foreign trade. With the full implementation of the RCEP, market players expect further improvement.
The channels for enterprises to go overseas have been broadened. Zhengzhou Limeiqi Amusement Equipment Co., Ltd. is a producer of ferris wheel, pirate ship and other amusement equipment, with 70 percent of the products for exports. Since 2008, the amusement equipment produced by the company has been exported mainly through Alibaba.com, and with the implementation of the RCEP, the tariffs for the products have been significantly reduced, and some overseas orders have been transferred to the company, noted Wang Xuejiao, the company head.
The changes brought about by the full implementation of the RCEP are systemic, said Wang. For example, the customs clearance time of many Southeast Asian countries has been shortened from more than ten days to less than six days, reducing the trade costs of enterprises and thus enhancing their confidence to further expand overseas business, Wang added.
Liu Yu, a general manager of Alibaba.com, revealed that in May this year, the exports of merchants on Alibaba.com to RCEP member countries grew rapidly year on year, with those to Australia, Japan and the Philippines increased by more than 15 percent year on year, and those to Singapore by nearly 30 percent year on year.
The cooperation has been deepened. Nanning Qiaohong New Materials Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer of new absorption cores like dust-free paper and melt-blown cloth. Since the beginning of this year, with the increase of export orders, the operating rate of the production plant has remained above 90 percent.
According to the introduction of the staff of the Nanning Customs, the dust-free paper produced by the company can enter the Philippine market with zero tariff in the future, said Lu Qi, deputy general manager of the company, adding that the RCEP has promoted the deep integration of regional industrial and supply chains, and the full implementation of the RCEP will help the company carry out more in-depth cooperation with relevant partners in the industrial chain.
Wang Weibing, head of the Nanning Customs, said that Guangxi is the frontier and window of opening-up and cooperation between China and ASEAN, and deepening opening-up and cooperation with RCEP member countries will stimulate more development dividends. According to Wang, the Nanning Customs will actively promote the expansion of exports of advantageous products and imports of key technologies, continue to expand the coverage of RCEP policy dividends, promote the construction and upgrading of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and support Guangxi to transform its unique geographical advantages into advantages of open development.
Driven by the RCEP, more stories of win-win cooperation are being written.
(Edited by Gu Shanshan with Xinhua Silk Road, gushanshan.1987@163.com)
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