In 2022, China imported and exported 12.95 trillion yuan to the other 14 RCEP members
Rows of steel pipes are cut, cleaned, polished and painted on the production line. In the intelligent production workshop of Zhejiang Jiayi Insulation Technology Co., LTD., a number of automatic production lines are running at full power, producing thermos cups that will soon be sold to the Eurasian market. In 2022, corporate exports exceeded $100 million.
“At the beginning of 2022, we obtained the province’s first RCEP export Certificate of origin, which made a good start for the whole year’s exports. The tariff rate of our thermos cups exported to Japan was reduced from 3.9 percent to 3.2 percent, and we enjoyed a tariff reduction of 200,000 yuan for the whole year. ‘The further reduction of the tax rate to 2.8% this year has made our products more competitive and we are confident of further expanding exports,’ said Gu Lili, foreign trade manager of Zhejiang Jiayi Insulation Technology Co., LTD.
For businesses, the immediate benefits of the RCEP will be reflected in lower trade costs as a result of lower tariffs. Under the agreement, more than 90% of trade in goods within the region will eventually be tariff-free, mainly by reducing taxes to zero immediately and within 10 years, which has boosted the appetite for trade within the region.
The relevant person in charge of Hangzhou Customs introduced that RCEP came into effect and free trade relations were established between China and Japan for the first time. Many products produced in
Zhejiang, such as yellow rice wine, Chinese medicinal materials and thermos cups, were exported to Japan significantly. In 2022, Hangzhou Customs issued 52,800 RCEP certificates of origin for 2,346 enterprises under its jurisdiction, and achieved about 217 million yuan of tax concessions for import and export goods in Zhejiang. In 2022, Zhejiang’s import and export to other RCEP member countries reached 1.17 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.5%, driving the provincial foreign trade growth of 3.1 percentage points.
For consumers, the entry into force of the RCEP will not only make some imported goods more affordable, but also increase consumption choices.
Trucks loaded with fruits imported from ASEAN come and go at Youyi Pass port in Pingxiang, Guangxi. In recent years, more and more fruits from ASEAN countries have been exported to China, which are favored by domestic consumers. Since the RCEP came into effect, cooperation on agricultural products among member states has become closer. Many fruits from ASEAN countries, such as bananas from Myanmar, longan from Cambodia and durian from Vietnam, have been granted quarantine access by China, enriching the dining tables of Chinese consumers.
Yuan Bo, deputy director of the Institute of Asian Studies at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that measures such as tariff reduction and trade facilitation covered by the RCEP have brought tangible benefits for enterprises to reduce costs and increase efficiency. RCEP member states have become important sources for Chinese enterprises to expand export markets and import consumer goods, and stimulated the potential of intra-regional trade cooperation.
According to the General Administration of Customs, in 2022, China’s imports and exports to 14 other RCEP members reached 12.95 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.5%, accounting for 30.8% of the total value of China’s imports and exports. There were 8 other RCEP members with double-digit growth rates. The growth rate of imports and exports to Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos exceeded 20%.