Nearly 600 Henan enterprises benefit from RCEP over past 3 years

Henan Daily

Zhangzhou: On January 1, 2025, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) welcomed its third anniversary. Over the past three years, tariff rates among the RCEP member countries have been gradually reduced, and the policy dividends have been steadily unleashed. So far, Zhengzhou Customs has issued more than 18,000 RCEP Certificates of Origin, helping 599 foreign trade enterprises enjoy a total tariff reduction of 660 million yuan, according to the local authority on January 27. Goods benefiting from the RCEP preferential tariffs in Henan have reached 7.33 billion yuan.

Also known as “paper gold”, the RCEP Certificate of Origin enables export products to enjoy tariff preferences abroad. With the assistance of Zhengzhou Customs, an increasing number of Henan enterprises are making full use of this “golden paper” to expand their presence in the global market. Take Henan Zhongheng International Trade Co., Ltd. as an example – over the past three years, the company has applied for 815 RCEP certificates from Zhengzhou Customs, ranking first in the province. “By actively applying for RCEP certificates, we have better maintained relationships with international clients and strengthened our presence in overseas markets,” said Hao Jia, the company’s foreign trade director.

With tariffs among the RCEP member countries decreasing year by year, Henan enterprises have gained greater confidence in both sourcing and expanding into global markets. “From 10% to 8.1%, a 1.9-percentage-point reduction over three years has enabled us to import more high-quality foreign products,” said Zeng Yiyang, the foreign trade manager of Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., adding that from 2022 to 2024, the company’s preferential imports from Japan exceeded 200 million yuan, with a total tariff reduction of 2.68 million yuan.

Not only has RCEP created more business opportunities for regional enterprises, but it has also strengthened economic and trade exchanges among member countries. According to Zhengzhou Customs, in 2024, Henan’s trade volume with the RCEP member countries reached 240.23 billion yuan, marking a 9.6% increase compared to 2021, before the agreement took effect.

“For the first time, China and Japan have reached a bilateral tariff reduction arrangement through RCEP, with over 80% of products eventually enjoying zero tariffs. Over the past three years, nearly 90% of the RCEP certificates issued by Zhengzhou Customs were for exports to Japan,” said the head of the Tariff Department at Zhengzhou Customs.