General

Over the past year since the implementation of RCEP, Gansu Province has been promoting the implementation of RCEP with high quality, and its economic and trade exchanges with member countries have become increasingly close. The breadth and depth of cooperation areas have continued to expand, and the province's foreign trade has accelerated. Import and export data shows that in 2022, Gansu and RCEP member countries achieved import and export of 13.78 billion yuan, an increase of 49.3%. From January to April this year, imports and exports with RCEP member countries reached 6.12 billion yuan, an increase of 53.2%.

Innovative achievements are constantly emerging. For more than a year, Gansu has explored a high-quality way to connect with RCEP with local characteristics, and innovative achievements have been constantly formed. Last April, the Opinions on the High Quality Implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in Gansu Province was issued, guiding industries and enterprises across the province to seize the opportunities of implementing RCEP and improve the level of trade and investment. Organize commercial authorities and foreign trade enterprises to participate in four national RCEP series specialized training courses organized by the Ministry of Commerce, and jointly organize online training courses on RCEP and free trade pilot zone business knowledge with the Ministry of Commerce Training Center. Over 3000 people participated in the training throughout the year, helping the commercial departments and enterprises in the province to enhance their ability to seize RCEP opportunities. At the same time, conduct research on high-quality implementation of RCEP projects; Strengthen the information service function and provide convenience for enterprises to enjoy online inquiries.

At the same time, Gansu actively builds RCEP to promote the "engine". Since 2022, a total of 12 enterprises in the province have been supported to establish 25 overseas marketing outlets in 7 RCEP member countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, South Korea, and Cambodia, including 12 overseas warehouses. At the same time, we will accelerate the construction of the Lanzhou and Tianshui Comprehensive Pilot Zones, cultivating a total of over 340 cross-border e-commerce entities. In 2022, the transaction volume completed was nearly 1.44 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 66.6%. The cross-border e-commerce import and export business has achieved full coverage in RCEP member countries. In addition, Gansu also held online trade negotiation and docking meetings with member countries such as South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia, focusing on key countries, products, and enterprises. More than 200 docking activities were organized to promote the expansion of the RCEP market for characteristic products in the province.

ASEAN and South Korea are important sources of direct investment in Gansu Province. According to import and export data, since 2013, RCEP member countries have established 20 foreign-funded enterprises in the province, with an actual utilization of foreign investment of 237.58 million US dollars. In order to seize the opportunities of RCEP and further promote two-way investment, during the 28th Lanchang Fair, Gansu Province invited Malaysia as the guest of honor to hold the 2022 Global Investment Promotion Conference and Gansu Province Investment Promotion Conference. Branch venues were established in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, and four national level economic development zones in the province were organized for online promotion of advantageous projects. Hold the "China (Gansu) Malaysia Industry Promotion and Economic and Trade Cooperation Matchmaking Conference" to promote Gansu Province's advantageous industries such as new energy, equipment manufacturing, new materials, biopharmaceuticals, traditional Chinese medicine, and modern agriculture to domestic and foreign merchants. Strive to form complementary and deep integration of industrial and supply chain advantages with member countries in all aspects and multiple fields, and deepen practical cooperation.

The vitality of foreign trade continues to be released. A series of measures have further strengthened trade exchanges between Gansu Province and RCEP member countries. According to import and export data, in 2022, Gansu and RCEP member countries achieved import and export of 13.78 billion yuan, an increase of 49.3%. According to import and export data, from January to April this year, imports and exports with RCEP member countries reached 6.12 billion yuan, an increase of 53.2%. With the high-quality implementation of RCEP, enterprises are realizing more benefits. Since the effective implementation of RCEP, CCPIT Gansu Council has issued a total of 19 RCEP Certificate of origin with a visa amount of 1.05 million US dollars, saving enterprises about 55000 US dollars in tariff costs. According to the import and export data, in the first quarter of this year, the provincial trade promotion system issued 7 RCEP Certificate of origin, involving more than 1.902 million yuan of goods value and more than 95100 yuan of benefits. With the official entry into force of RCEP for the Philippines, policy dividends will continue to be released, creating more incremental trade and investment between Gansu and RCEP member countries.

Establish a more stable trade network. Next, Gansu will increase the intensity of RCEP practical training. On the basis of thorough research, precise lectures will be conducted on the difficulties faced by enterprises in utilizing the agreement. The RCEP certificate of origin rules and tariff reduction guidelines will be interpreted for different products of different enterprises. At the same time, the functions of public service platforms will be strengthened to improve the benefits enjoyed by enterprises. At the same time, strengthen the construction of RCEP cooperation platforms. Plan to organize and guide local organizations to hold online and offline exhibitions, special promotion meetings, theme forums, policy training, and other forms of communication platforms. While building a platform for enterprises to integrate into RCEP, fully tap into the market potential of RCEP member countries, establish a stable trade network, and promote trade exchanges between member countries. (Translated from: International Business Daily Author: Lu Hong/Chen Zhu'an)