RCEP boosts trade growth, economic recovery of member states

NANNING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Shi Jielian, foreign trade manager of Guangxi Yongjiang Food Industry Co., Ltd., obtained the 13th certificate of origin under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) for her company this year, as she received an electronic invoice of "approval" from Nanning Customs in south 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 percent to 2.2 percent," Shi said.

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

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

China's foreign trade of goods jumped 9.4 percent year on year to 19.8 trillion yuan (about 2.94 trillion U.S. dollars) 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 by 17.8 percent and 5.6 percent year on year, respectively.

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

Nanning Qiaohong New Materials Co., Ltd. was the first company to apply for RCEP certificates of origin in Guangxi. As of June 30, the company 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 company's marketing department.

Chen noted that in the first six months of this year, the company 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 204 million U.S. dollars from January to April this year.

Jurin added that Thailand had imported goods with a total value of 72.3 million U.S. dollars by utilizing the preferential policies under RCEP agreement in the same period.

"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 enterprises 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 percent, 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.