CO helps Yunnan agro-products to tap int’l market potential

A batch of fresh gingers worth 210,000 RMB recently entered the Vietnamese market as the Zero Tariff goods thanks to the Certificates of Origin (CO) issued by China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. During the first season, Kunming Customs also issued 14,000 COs to boost international trade.

The CO is an important international trade document that certifies that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country. As a Tariff concession proof in free trade zone, the efficiency of issuing COs directly brings trade facilitation for companies.

“Our company mainly export pseudo-ginseng (a kind of Chinese herbal medicine) to Japan. We need about ten COs every month. The intelligent customs document examination, self-service printing and other convenient measures have facilitated enterprises,” said Yu Yuqi, general manager of the Miaoxiang industrial company in southeast Yunnan's Wenshan prefecture.

　

In November 2020, 15 Asia-Pacific countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The agreement involves all 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and five of its major trading partners－China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

At present, China has completed the ratification of the RCEP, and when the agreement comes into force, more than 90 percent of goods traded in the region will eventually be tariff-free.

Reporting by Liu Ziyu (Yunnan Daily); Trans-editing by Mo Yingyi