Expanding the network of high-standard free trade zones

Not long ago, the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement officially came into effect, and China and Serbia gradually eliminated tariffs on 90% of the tariff items. This is the first free trade agreement signed by my country and Central and Eastern European countries. It will not only expand bilateral investment and trade cooperation, but also add new impetus to the high-quality construction of the “Belt and Road”.

On the day the agreement came into effect, Suzhou Industrial Park Customs issued a certificate of origin for Suzhou Samsung Electronics Home Appliances Co., Ltd. “In the first half of this year, the value of our drum washing machines, refrigerators and other goods exported to Serbia exceeded 1.7 million yuan.” Tan Meifang, head of the company’s international trade department, introduced that by applying for an export certificate of origin under the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement, it is expected that tariffs of about 40,000 yuan can be reduced in the second half of the year.

The “Decision” of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed: “Expand the global network of high-standard free trade zones, establish a compliance mechanism that connects with international common rules, and optimize the environment for open cooperation.” For a long time, my country has continued to deepen multilateral and bilateral and regional economic cooperation, deeply participated in global industrial division of labor and cooperation, maintained a diversified and stable international economic structure and economic and trade relations, and created a good external environment for promoting Chinese-style modernization.

Free trade agreements are an effective vehicle for eliminating trade barriers and a comprehensive institutional arrangement that allows products and services to flow freely between countries. The more reasonable the layout of free trade zones, the more they can bring into play their institutional dividends. Since the beginning of this year, the China-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement has officially come into effect, the negotiations on the free trade agreement have been jointly promoted with Honduras, and the negotiations on upgrading the free trade agreement with Peru have been substantially completed, and the layout of free trade zones has been continuously optimized. So far, my country has signed 22 free trade agreements with 29 countries and regions, and the trade volume accounts for about 1/3 of China’s total foreign trade. Negotiating and signing high-standard free trade agreements with more countries and regions will not only promote the quality and upgrading of multilateral and bilateral economic and trade cooperation, but also help promote open cooperation on a larger scale, at a higher level and at a deeper level.

To further deepen international economic and trade cooperation, in addition to expanding the “circle of friends”, we must also actively connect with international high-standard economic and trade rules. For example, the negative list model has become a major way for international high-standard free trade agreements to make open arrangements in the field of cross-border trade in services. In March this year, the Ministry of Commerce issued the national version and the free trade pilot zone version of the negative list for cross-border trade in services. In June, my country and New Zealand launched negotiations on the negative list of trade in services under the free trade agreement. Previously, in the field of cross-border trade in services, my country mostly made commitments in the form of a positive list. The active adoption of the negative list model has effectively improved policy transparency and predictability. Expanding independent opening-up and building a new open economic system at a higher level can better leverage my country’s super-large-scale market advantages and better grasp new development opportunities.

Expanding the network of high-standard free trade zones is also of great significance to maintaining the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain. Taking the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) as an example, by June this year, RCEP had been fully effective for 15 signatory countries for a full year, greatly promoting the free flow of production factors within the region. In 2023, the RCEP region attracted a total of US$234.1 billion in greenfield investment, an increase of 29.8%, 2.2 times that of 2021, and the cooperation in the industrial chain and supply chain in the region became increasingly close.

Open cooperation is the trend of the times, and mutual benefit and win-win are what people want. Against the backdrop of economic globalization encountering headwinds, my country has steadily expanded its institutional opening-up, actively promoted its participation in high-standard economic and trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, expanded the global network of high-standard free trade zones, and injected more confidence and vitality into global open development. China has always been an important engine of global development, and will continue to provide strong impetus for the development of the world economy, demonstrating its firm determination to open up and establishing a “circle of friends” for extensive cooperation.