RCEP catalyzes foreign trade in southwest China

CHONGQING, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Based in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, SAIC Hongyan Automotive Co., Ltd. has been manufacturing heavy trucks for over half a century. It has embraced new business opportunities overseas since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

"In 2023, we exported 450 heavy trucks to Indonesia, up about 160 percent from 2022," said Li Dong, head of the Indonesian branch of the international business department of the company.

"As the RCEP agreement took effect for Indonesia, the tariffs on dump trucks have been reduced to zero from 10 percent, which means local consumers are able to purchase our trucks at lower prices," Li said, adding that this has increased the products' competitiveness.

Likewise, many other enterprises in Chongqing have also made the best of the agreement to boost overseas businesses.

Chongqing Huafon Chemical Co., Ltd., one of the largest adipic acid producers globally, has facilitated its export businesses, especially to Japan. In 2022, the company exported 4,706 tonnes of adipic acid to Japan, hitting a record high.

"In 2023, the tariff on adipic acid was 3.2 percent, compared to 4.6 percent prior to the RCEP agreement," said Xu Shuyuan, deputy manager of the company, adding that thanks to relevant policies, the company was able to score a price advantage in the foreign market, which also enhances its international competitiveness.

At Lvling, a local pickle-making company based in Fuling District, a batch of uniformly sized, emerald-green pickled mustard tubers roll off the production line. Soon, they will be packaged and shipped to Japan's Yokohama.

Thanks to the free trade agreement, the customs clearance time has been further shortened, and now it only takes a week to ship the mustard tubers to Japan. Also, the import costs imposed on Japanese clients have been reduced through tariff concession policies, according to Zhou Linxiang, general manager of Lvling.

Lvling exported 50 million yuan (about 6.9 million U.S. dollars) worth of pickled or fresh mustard tubers to RCEP member countries in the first three quarters of 2023, up 5 percent year on year. Mustard tubers worth about 20 million yuan were exported to Japan during the same period, up 6 percent year on year.

Data showed that during the first three quarters of 2023, Chongqing Customs issued 693 certificates of origin under the RCEP agreement for exports to Japan, up 8.45 percent year on year. The total value of the goods was 62.6 million dollars, up 37.74 percent from 2022.

Through RCEP, these made-in-China products have also won recognition overseas for their good quality and specialized services.

"In a bid to meet the needs of Indonesian clients, we utilize late-model hydrodynamic retarders and larger-diameter wheels on our heavy dump trucks, which largely increase the maneuverability and stability of the products," Li Dong said.

He added that many clients in Indonesia gave positive feedback that China-made heavy-duty trucks feature higher power, carrying capacity and security compared with products from Japan and the Republic of Korea at the same price.

"These mustard tubers are selected precisely in terms of size, quality and color. At a food exhibition in Japan, many clients sought to cooperate with us," said Zhou, adding that the company plans to build overseas warehouses and increase product varieties to provide more high-quality pickles.