Chongqing Seizes RCEP Opportunities to Boost High-Quality Development of Open Economy

      

In mid-November, Chongqing Customs released import-export trade data from January to October. One standout figure captured attention: trade with other RCEP member states reached RMB214.51 billion, marking a 12.5% increase.

RCEP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, an agreement initiated by ASEAN in 2012 and jointly formulated by 15 members - China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the ten ASEAN nations. It officially took effect on January 1 of this year.

Chongqing is actively building itself into a hub for inland opening-up, aligning with RCEP's trade rules, which is vital for deepening the opening-up and cooperation among Chongqing and RCEP member states in all aspects, and promoting Chongqing's high-standard opening up and high-quality development.

"RCEP covers approximately 30% of the world's population, GDP, trade and investment. It is the world's largest free trade area by population, economic scale, and development potential," stated a representative from Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. Since RCEP's signing, Chongqing has prioritized seizing its opportunities through multi-dimensional efforts to align with international high-standard economic and trade rules and accelerate openness.

Strengthen understanding and awareness of RCEP among all parties

When RCEP first took effect, He Daoguo, General Manager of LJML Logistics, proactively sought information but found the content overwhelmingly complex and difficult to apply.

"RCEP is undoubtedly an opportunity, but initially, I truly didn't understand it and didn't know whom to ask," He Daoguo said.

This was a common challenge for enterprises in the early stages of RCEP implementation - lack of policy awareness.

A representative from the Asia-Africa Division of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce explained that RCEP was a new concept at the time. Many enterprises were unaware of it, and even those who knew lacked thorough understanding, preventing them from benefiting from its advantages.

To address this, Chongqing launched citywide promotion campaigns led by Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce starting January this year. Statistics show that Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce had organized six online and offline citywide RCEP training sessions, attracting over 2,000 participants and serving more than 500 enterprises. These sessions helped companies become aware of and fully utilize the applicable policies and facilitation measures, further optimizing procurement, production, logistics and other operations, and flexibly arranging industrial and supply chains.

Additionally, Chongqing has established an online RCEP comprehensive service platform and developed a free trade agreement information inquiry App, providing specialized services such as country profile, tax rate inquiry, commodity filing, and certificate of origin application for all enterprises in the city to enter the RCEP member states market and RCEP member states enterprises to enter Chongqing.

"We have established RCEP think tank and expert teams." said a relevant official of the Asia-Africa Division of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. The think tank and expert teams will actively carry out research projects focusing on RCEP's rules of origin, technical regulations, technical barriers to trade, and trade facilitation, striving to produce a series of research outcomes.

New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor has become an important carrier for seizing RCEP opportunities.

In late October, a shipment of Beer Laos arrived in Jiangjin District via New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, allowing direct public purchase of Beer Laos at Jiangjin Luohuang Port Industrial City.

This is a manifestation of encrypted exchanges between Chongqing and RCEP member states, and New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor provides a carrier for "encrypted exchanges".

"Ports and cities in RCEP member states are primary coverage areas of New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor." introduced Liu Wei, head of the Corridor Operation Organization Center. The corridor covers all RCEP member states and has established a convenient southbound route for exchanges between Chongqing - as well as the entire country - and RCEP member states, accelerating economic and trade exchanges.

Currently, Chongqing is actively developing New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, leveraging its operational hub to enhance connectivity with RCEP member states.

For example, Chongqing has explored and promoted the application scenarios of financing and settlement for New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor through innovation. This initiative has not only enhanced the value-added effect of the corridor but also reduced financing costs for enterprises.

Another example is that following the launch of the China-Laos Railway, Chongqing proactively established the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor's China-Laos Railway freight service, leading in multiple aspects such as return trips, thereby enriching logistics routes between Chongqing and RCEP member states.

Thanks to these measures, key indicators of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor have shown significant growth. From January to October this year, Chongqing transported 15,123 TEUs via the corridor, a year-on-year increase of 35%, with a total cargo value of RMB2.123 billion, up 33% year-on-year. Among these, the Chongqing New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor rail-sea intermodal trains operated 275 trips, marking a 27% increase compared to the same period last year.

 Multi-dimensional promotion of RCEP implementation in Chongqing

In August this year, the Action Plan for High Quality Implementation of RCEP in Chongqing was officially released.

This document was formulated based on Chongqing's existing cooperation with RCEP countries, a clause-by-clause analysis of RCEP provisions, and a comprehensive assessment (categorized by country, sector, and product) of RCEP's impact on the city's open economy. It provides clear guidance on how Chongqing can align with RCEP's trade and investment rules moving forward.

The plan sets a target for Chongqing's import and export volume with RCEP member states to exceed RMB300 billion by 2026, while cumulative utilized foreign investment from RCEP member states should surpass USD1 billion over five years.

How to achieve this goal? Chongqing's approach involves multi-dimensional and multi-pronged measures.

For instance, in terms of working mechanisms, the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce is taking the lead, collaborating with over 30 departments and units including the Chongqing Economic and Information Commission, the Chongqing Municipal Justice Bureau, the Port and Logistics Office of Chongqing Municipal Government, the Promotion of International Trade Chongqing Committee and the Chongqing Customs to establish a cross-departmental RCEP coordination and promotion mechanism. This mechanism facilitates joint research and collaborative efforts to implement RCEP in the city.

Another example is in legal support: Chongqing has established the "Belt and Road" Legal Service Research Center and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor Legal Research Center. It is also cooperating with higher education institutions like Southwest University of Political Science & Law to build the "China ASEAN Legal Research Center", jointly conducting research on the legal policies of RCEP member states and regions.

"Overall, Chongqing is accelerating its alignment with RCEP rules," said a relevant official from Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. From January to September this year, the city issued 938 RCEP certificates of origin, covering goods worth USD75.138 million; while imports under RCEP preferential terms reached RMB110 million, with tariff reductions totaling RMB1.758 million.

Source: Chongqing Daily