How enterprises could benefit from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)? What services are provided to help Guangdong-based enterprises take advantage of the RCEP?
As the largest free trade agreement in the world recently became fully effective for all 15 member countries on June 2, the Guangdong Department of Commerce and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Guangdong Committee held a seminar to address these issues on June 6 in Guangzhou. The seminar's goal was to assist businesses in taking advantage of RCEP opportunities.
"CCPIT has been playing the role of a bridge between the government and enterprises of home and abroad and promoting the RCEP since it took effect. Enterprises have enjoyed tariff reduction, especially with Japan, while some are considering expanding their supply chain layout as the region is more integrated," said Yan Yun, Director-General of CCPIT Commercial Certification Center.
Yan argued that businesses still don't understand the RCEP, which is so complex and contains rules that span 14,000 pages, based on a CCPIT survey of businesses. She highlighted that the CCPIT will make more precise plans targeting specific business sectors and countries, and assist enterprises to seize RCEP opportunities through expert think tanks, online service platforms and more intelligent tools.
"Guangdong and other RCEP member countries have maintained close trade partnerships. We will facilitate the development of RCEP service centers in different cities and provide enterprises in Guangdong and RCEP countries with one-stop services such as commercial services and customs services," said Li Jing, Second-Level Inspector of Guangdong Commerce Department and Director of Guangdong Economic and Trade Office in Southeast Asia.
"It's key for the RCEP service centers to promote the policies based on the requests of enterprises," said Qiu Zhaoxian, Vice President of CCPIT Guangdong Committee. He suggested that city-level RCEP service centers should pay attention to local industrial development and provide customized services for local enterprises.
(RCEP service centers inauguration ceremony/photo provided to GDToday)
Zheng Chongwen, Deputy Director of CCPIT Guangdong FTZ Service Center, told GDToday that, based on the applications for the RCEP certificates of origin that the center has received, foreign-invested businesses in Guangdong have been actively utilizing the RCEP's preferential rules.
She took a Republic of Korea (ROK)-invested company as an example: "The company set up a factory in Huizhou City and manufactures batteries for Hyundai Motor Group. In order to lower the tariff when sending the products to the ROK for assembling, it applied for the RCEP certificates of origin." Zheng elaborated that the RCEP provides more choices for tariff reduction and helps enterprises with a global layout to optimize their supply chain management.
Zheng introduced that the Certification Center for International Commerce of CCPIT Guangdong provides business certification, authentication, and training services. "We launched an online platform which allows enterprises to consult customs services and certificate applications. We held lectures to promote the RCEP in different cities, improving enterprises' capacity to expand their business in the region," said Zheng.
(The RCEP online service platform was launched/photo provided to GDToday)
Experts from the Guangdong Sub-Administration of General Administration of Customs of China and the Guangdong Tax Service of State Taxation Administration were invited to introduce preferential policies at the seminar.
More than 25 thousand Certificates of Origin have been issued by Guangdong since the RCEP's entry into force in January 2022, helping enterprises enjoy import tariffs reduction and exemptions worth about 12.58 million USD.
According to the CCPIT Guangdong Committee, the main targeted countries for the Certificates of Origin include Japan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand, while the main export products cover footwear, clothing, bags, and tiles.
Reporter丨Jasmine, Nina
Video丨Guan Jieming
Editor丨Wing, Olivia, James
