An aerial photo of Southwest China's Chongqing municipality. [Photo/WeChat account of Liangjiang New Area]

Chongqing Eusinasia Foods Co applied for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) certificate of origin on Jan 7. "The certificate allows us to enjoy favorable tariff rates when trading with RCEP member countries," said Li Jiuhong, manager of the firm. The reduced tariffs will make the goods more competitive on the global stage.

From Jan 1 to 10, Chongqing issued nearly 30 such certificates. The first was granted to SAIC HONGYAN Co. Xiong Zhu, official of the company's business department, said that Vietnam is the company's biggest foreign trading partner. The company will continue to give first priority to trade in ASEAN countries, and the official launch of RCEP has made their transactions smoother.

An official from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Chongqing Sub-council said that the majority of the certificates issued are for exports to Japan. Being the first free trade contract signed by China and Japan, RCEP will ultimately achieve the zero-tariff for 86 percent of Japanese imports to China.

Statistics from the Chongqing Customs show that Chongqing registered 212.66 billion yuan ($33.41 billion) in exports to RCEP members during the first 11 months of last year, up 16.6 percent year-on-year, and accounting for 29.5 percent of the municipality's total. The advent and in-depth implementation of the RCEP agreement will intensify Chongqing's exchanges with RCEP and ASEAN member countries.