The implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong and Macao since Jan. 1, 2004 has gone on smoothly, a Chinese official said in Beijing Tuesday (June 1st).

An Min, Vice Minister of Commerce, noted at the first Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum that under CEPA, goods of Hong Kong and Macao origin that enjoy zero tariffs totaling 300 million HK dollars (38.46 million US dollars) have entered the mainland.

According to him, a total of 300 companies in Hong Kong and Macao have filed applications for the favorable treatment stipulated in CEPA, with many in the industries of banking, telecom and logistics already approved.

Several agreements have been signed on mutual recognition between Hong Kong and China's mainland for the professional qualifications in the fields of construction, insurance and securities, An added.

An Min pointed out that the implementation of CEPA has stimulated the growth of investment and expenditure in Hong Kong and Macao, promoted the recovery of Hong Kong's property market and enhanced the economic development in the two special administrative regions (SARs).

He said the economies of the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong andMacao are closely related and highly complementary. He added that the trade volume between Hong Kong, Macao and China's mainland stood at 90 billion US dollars, and the two SARs direct investmentin the mainland reached 18 billion US dollars last year.

The three-day Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum, opened here Tuesday, will continue in Macao andGuangzhou respectively.

The Pan-Pearl River Delta Region includes provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Editor: Catherine