Our reporter Yong Li Wang Jiangao Liu Hao
Just after the zero point, Qingdao Customs issued the country’s first "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) certificate of origin for Qingdao Gulf Group Co., Ltd. With this certificate, this batch of exports was exported to Japan for more than 2,800 tons of calcium chloride. The exemption amounts to nearly 10,000 yuan.
On the same day, the Chongqing Council for the Promotion of International Trade issued the first batch of RCEP certificates of origin in Chongqing for chemical raw materials and other products exported to Japan. The tariffs on these products exported to Japan were reduced by 0.4% in the first year.
With the official entry into force of RCEP on January 1, facing the huge business and development opportunities it brings, all localities seized the opportunity as soon as possible to comprehensively promote economic and trade cooperation with RCEP countries.
Unleash multiple "dividends" and add new impetus to regional cooperation
RCEP is by far the world’s largest free trade agreement. Its total population, economic volume, and total trade account for 1/3 of the global total. The agreement covers a wide range of tariff reductions, trade facilitation, opening up of services and investment, and protection of intellectual property rights. After the entry into force, more than 90% of the goods in the region will gradually achieve zero tariffs.
"Our company will enjoy the benefits of new tax cuts in foreign trade." said Xiao Hong, head of the foreign trade department of Shenchi Electrical Co., Ltd. in Beibei, Chongqing.
This company is mainly engaged in the research and development, manufacturing and sales of small generators, General Dynamics and their end-application products. Currently, it has directly or indirectly achieved sales in 12 countries in the RCEP region.
In recent years, the scale of import and export trade between Chongqing and RCEP member countries has continued to expand, from 127 billion yuan in 2016 to 204.3 billion yuan in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 12.6%.
From January to October last year, the import and export volume between Chongqing and RCEP member states was 190.72 billion yuan.
RCEP member states have invested and established more than 50 enterprises in Chongqing each year, and the actual use of foreign capital exceeds US$900 million each year.
The proportion of Chongqing's investment in RCEP member countries has also steadily increased, from 3% in 2016 to 5.8% in 2020.
On the day when the RCEP became effective, the Qingdao Municipal Taxation Bureau accepted the 2.06 million export tax rebate application submitted by Qingdao Textile Union Group Import and Export Co., Ltd. This is the first export tax rebate application accepted by the Qingdao taxation authority after the RCEP took effect, allowing foreign trade companies to enjoy exports. The "real money" brought by the tax rebate.
ASEAN has become Qingdao's largest trading partner.
Up to now, the total number of RCEP member countries' investment enterprises in Qinghai has reached 17,000. In the first 11 months of last year, Qingdao and RCEP countries have imported and exported 291.98 billion yuan.
"RCEP will significantly reduce the operating costs of enterprises in the region, drive enterprises to restructure the supply chain and value chain in the region, and optimize the flow of goods, technology, services, and capital in the region. China and ASEAN countries will make great strides towards greater improvement. A new era of large-scale regional economic integration." Yang Chunting, Director of the Guangxi Department of Commerce, said that as a frontier and window of open cooperation with ASEAN, the open cooperation between Guangxi and RCEP member states including ASEAN will also usher in greater development. Opportunities to stimulate more development dividends.
Seize the opportunity of opening up to promote high-quality open cooperation
Vice Minister of Commerce Ren Hongbin stated at the press conference of the State Council Information Office a few days ago that the implementation of RCEP is a “new milestone” in China’s opening up. More closely connected.
As the connecting point of the “Belt and Road” and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Chongqing has a unique location advantage in deepening cooperation with RCEP member countries.
The relevant person in charge of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce introduced that Chongqing will further build a high-level RCEP docking platform, build a RCEP economic and trade cooperation pilot zone, and focus on the demonstration and pioneering role of the China-Singapore interconnection project and the city’s 6 comprehensive bonded zones; it will build a Unicom RCEP To build a logistics hub for RCEP member states in western China; accelerate the connection with RCEP member states in the aviation and railway fields, and enhance the trade distributing capacity with RCEP countries...
On December 30, 2021, Guangxi established the RCEP Enterprise Service Center.
Yang Chunting stated that Guangxi will accelerate the construction of a cross-border industrial chain oriented to ASEAN’s distinctive advantages, make full use of RCEP preferential tariffs and accumulation rules of origin, based on the close favorable conditions for industrial cooperation with ASEAN, strengthen industrial cooperation with RCEP member countries, and promote the formation of electronic information and chemical industries. Cross-border industrial chain supply chain value chain in new materials, processing of Chinese medicinal materials, automobiles and new energy vehicles, and processing of ASEAN special products.
Strengthen the collaborative innovation of the industrial chain, strengthen the interaction with the upstream and downstream industrial chains of overseas economic and trade cooperation parks, and continuously optimize the layout of the industrial chain and supply chain.
On December 1, 2020, Qingdao took the lead in proposing the construction of the RCEP Qingdao economic and trade cooperation pilot innovation test base with the international cruise port area as the core area. After the entry into force, Qingdao will make good use of the Shanghai Cooperation Demonstration Zone and the Pilot Free Trade Zone. And other platforms, continue to deepen cooperation with RCEP member states in international trade, shipping and logistics, modern finance, technological innovation, modern oceans and other fields, accelerate the creation of trade facilitation, open services, investment freedom, safe and efficient supervision, and strong radiation RCEP economic and trade cooperation model city.