General

On June 2nd at 0:00, a batch of earphone plastic accessories sent from Shenzhen, Guangdong to the Philippines were successfully cleared through customs at the Huanggang Port in Shenzhen. This is the first shipment of goods exported by China to the Philippines after the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) officially came into effect for the Philippines.

Over the past year since the implementation of RCEP, it has not only driven regional and even global economic recovery, but also enabled more and more member state enterprises to benefit from policy dividends and gain tangible benefits. With the full implementation of RCEP for 15 signatory countries, the world's largest free trade zone has entered a new stage of comprehensive implementation, which will further assist enterprises in expanding the RCEP market, promoting international trade development, and injecting more new impetus into regional and even global economic growth.

Reduce costs and expand space, continuously unleashing new vitality in foreign trade development

Against the backdrop of global and regional challenges faced by all countries, the effective implementation of RCEP has unleashed tremendous vitality, and the perception of enterprises is the most intuitive and obvious.

"Since the effective implementation of RCEP, the Group has handled 523 certificate of origin of RCEP, mainly textiles and clothing, which are mainly exported to Japan and other countries. Before the implementation of RCEP, the company's goods exported to Japan did not enjoy any tariff relief. Now, with the help of favorable policies and strong export advantages of the products themselves, our bargaining power continues to improve, and the competitiveness of international trade exports continues to increase." Li Yanzhou, General Manager of the Operations Management Department of Huihong Group, told International Business Daily that since the beginning of this year, the group's exports to RCEP member countries have reached nearly 150 million yuan, maintaining a growth trend.

Data shows that from January to April this year, the total international trade import and export volume between China and other RCEP members was 4.12 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%, accounting for 30.9% of the total foreign trade import and export volume. In the first quarter of this year, Chinese enterprises enjoyed a preferential export value of 62.29 billion yuan under RCEP, and could enjoy a tariff reduction of 930 million yuan from the importing country; The import value of Xianghui is 18.25 billion yuan, with a tax reduction of 480 million yuan.

On the day when RCEP came into effect for the Philippines, Shanghai Shenhuo Aluminum Foil Co., Ltd. boarded the first batch of "Huixiang Express". Shanghai Pudong Customs issued the first certificate of origin under the RCEP of Shanghai Customs District for the company's batch of aluminum foils exported to the Philippines with a value of 55000 dollars. With this certificate, this batch of goods can enjoy a Philippine import tariff reduction of over 10000 yuan.

Mei Xiaojun, director of the foreign trade department of the company, said that last year, the company handled 1058 certificate of origin for exports from RCEP member countries, with a value of 67 million dollars. With the certificate of origin, the tariff reduction was equivalent to 5% of the value of the goods. The policy dividend of RCEP has helped companies offset the cost increase caused by raw material fluctuations in recent years, and has also won us more international trade orders. This year, the company will increase exports to the Philippines, with an estimated export value of $5 million

With the full implementation of RCEP, the tariff preferences enjoyed within the region are increasing year by year, and the proportion of the group's export RCEP market will continue to grow. We are also more confident in achieving greater development under the RCEP framework. "Li Yanzhou is also full of confidence in the future. Make full use of the policy

Explore more trade opportunities

What does it mean for the global economy to enter a new phase of comprehensive implementation of RCEP? How can Chinese enterprises better and more steadily "go global"?

Xu Ningning, Chairman of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee and Executive Chairman of the China ASEAN Business Council, told International Business Daily that the current global economic growth situation is severe, trade costs are constantly rising, and the stable and smooth supply chain of the industrial chain is facing challenges. The comprehensive implementation of RCEP reflects the development needs and trends of multilateral cooperation and free trade in the global economy, and will provide support for world economic growth and make contributions to the RCEP region.

The achievement and full implementation of RCEP are not easy. If RCEP member countries want to achieve tangible economic results from the new stage of comprehensive implementation, they need to enhance mutual trust and develop friendly relations among all parties, and jointly achieve new development in regional economic integration, "said Xu Ningning.

In recent years, trade exchanges between Chinese enterprises and RCEP member countries have become increasingly close. Taking the Philippines as an example, in 2022, the trade volume between China and the Philippines reached 87.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 7.1% year-on-year. The bilateral trade volume from January to April this year increased by 11.8% year-on-year. At the same time, Chinese enterprises' investment in the Philippines is also thriving, and investment cooperation in the digital economy, steel, and high-end manufacturing industries is ongoing.

Since the implementation of RCEP, guiding relevant industries and enterprises to fully utilize the benefits of RCEP policies has always been the direction of government efforts.

The head of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce recently stated that taking the opportunity of RCEP's full entry into force for all signatory countries, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to do a good job in high-quality implementation of RCEP, guide local governments, industries, and enterprises to deeply connect with RCEP opportunities, fully enjoy the policy dividends of the agreement, and further play the positive role of the agreement in promoting industrial chain supply chain cooperation and promoting high-quality development. Li Yanzhou introduced that since the implementation of RCEP, Huihong Group has attached great importance to the cultivation of talents related to free trade agreements. It has dedicated departments and personnel responsible for applying for RCEP and other free trade agreements. It actively participates in offline and online promotion and training of RCEP organized by the government, chambers of commerce, banks, etc., grasps and applies the rules of the agreement, and conducts in-depth analysis of the market situation of each business department in RCEP member countries, promoting and implementing RCEP related policies to business personnel, Targeted exploration of new customers and maintenance of old customers.

The comprehensive implementation of RCEP is both an opportunity and a challenge for foreign trade enterprises. Huihong will continue to conduct in-depth and systematic research and analysis of RCEP preferential policies, expand more effective promotion channels, explore more trade opportunities, and enhance the productivity, risk resistance, and competitiveness of enterprises themselves, "said Li Yanzhou.

Xu Ningning believes that Chinese enterprises should actively improve their international cooperation quality, make good use of free trade agreements, improve their ability to develop international trade markets, organize and coordinate, and vigorously enhance the visibility of enterprises and their products in the RCEP market.