On June 2, the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" (RCEP) officially entered into force for the Philippines. So far, the agreement has fully entered into force for the 15 signatories. Industry insiders believe that the full effect of RCEP will greatly boost confidence in regional economic recovery and inject strong impetus into regional economic and trade cooperation.
In the production workshop of Guangxi Nanning Paiji Paper Co., Ltd., the staff is stepping up production. On the 2nd, the company sent a batch of 112 tons of cup-coated paper with a value of 980,000 yuan to the Philippines. Yongzhou Customs, a subsidiary of Nanning Customs, issued Guangxi's first certificate of origin exported to the Philippines under RCEP for this batch of products. When customs clearance in the Philippines, the tariff will be reduced from the original 15% to zero tariff.
"We export three batches of goods to the Philippines every month, and we expect to enjoy a tariff preference of more than 300,000 yuan, which will greatly increase our business volume." Chen Zhongshu, Southeast Asia market manager of Nanning Paiji Paper Co., Ltd., is very confident about the future.
After RCEP comes into effect for the Philippines, in the field of trade in goods, the Philippines will add zero-tariff treatment to Chinese automobiles and parts, some plastic products, textiles and clothing, air-conditioning washing machines, etc. on the basis of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. The tariff will start from 3 %-30% gradually reduced to zero. In the field of services and investment, the Philippines has promised to open the market to more than 100 service sectors, significantly opening up shipping and air transportation services, and also giving foreign companies more certainty in the fields of commerce, telecommunications, distribution, finance, agriculture and manufacturing. .
Jiang Fujia, president of the Guangxi General Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, said that the Philippines has a large population and a large market. Guangxi and the Philippines are highly complementary in terms of agricultural products, port transportation, new energy vehicles, and tourism. The implementation of RCEP has brought great development opportunities for the economic and trade cooperation between the Philippines and Guangxi, and the friendly cooperation between the Philippines and China can be expected in the future.
On November 15, 2020, the 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand jointly signed RCEP, and promoted the agreement to come into effect on January 1, 2022. The full entry into force of the agreement marks the entry into a new stage of full implementation of the free trade area with the largest population, the largest economic and trade scale and the greatest development potential in the world.
The relevant person in charge of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce stated that the full effect of RCEP will provide a strong boost for China to promote high-level opening up, promote trade facilitation and improve the business environment.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, in the first quarter of 2023, Chinese enterprises can enjoy export value of 62.29 billion yuan under RCEP, and can enjoy tariff reduction of 930 million yuan from the importing country; enjoy import value of 18.25 billion yuan, and tax reduction of 480 million yuan. billion.
"We are working hard to negotiate with our Chinese partners to try to sell the fresh durian fruit of 'Musang King' from Malaysia to the Chinese market." On June 1, Zou Yuhui, Member of Parliament of Raub District, Pahang, Malaysia, attended the Guangxi-Malaysia Pahang Agricultural Products and Tourism Special Matchmaking Meeting when said.
The Raub District of Pahang State is one of the main producing areas of "Musang King" durian in Malaysia. Zou Yuhui said that with the convenience brought by the full implementation of RCEP, the local area will continue to deepen cooperation with China in the fields of economy, trade, tourism, and cultural exchanges to achieve mutual benefit, win-win results, and common development.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, from January to April 2023, the total import and export volume between China and other RCEP member countries was 4.12 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%, accounting for 30.9% of China's total foreign trade import and export. From the perspective of attracting foreign capital, from January to April, China actually used other RCEP members to invest nearly US$8.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of more than 13.7%.
People in the industry generally believe that the full implementation of RCEP will drive member states to promote mutual trade and investment, and inject strong impetus into regional economic integration.
At the RCEP trade and investment exchange meeting held in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi a few days ago, Deng Anyi, the Australian Consul General in Guangzhou, said that Australia welcomes RCEP to play an important role in strengthening the trade structure of various countries. RCEP will help deepen economic integration, provide better business opportunities for enterprises in Australia and China and other RCEP member countries, create important trade and investment opportunities for regional development, and promote economic growth in Asia.
The full effect of RCEP will reduce the cost of intra-regional trade, and enterprises are generally excited. Guangxi Liugong Group has been deeply involved in the Australian market for 20 years. With the implementation of RCEP bringing trade and investment facilitation, the company recently established a subsidiary in Australia to support local distributors to better serve customers.
"I believe that RCEP will promote our company's business exchanges with Australia." Liu Bo, the regional manager of Liugong Australia, said that Liugong's new generation of new energy electric products have been introduced recently, and more than 2,000 electric products have been sold in China. And put it into the US and UK markets, and will further increase the launch in Australia.