No. 10 [2022] of the Ministry of Finance
The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities under separate state planning, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, relevant departments of the State Council, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade:
For the purposes of thoroughly implementing the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on properly implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (“RCEP”), comprehensively fulfilling the market opening-up commitments and rules under the RCEP, guiding local areas, industries, and enterprises to adapt to a more open environment and more sufficient competition in regional markets, better grasping the opportunities brought by the RCEP, and promoting high-quality economic development, the following opinions are hereby offered with the consent of the State Council:
I. Guiding Ideology
Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a New Era shall be taken as the guidance, the guiding principles of the 19th CPC National Congress and plenary sessions of the 19th CPC Central Committee shall be fully implemented, and the decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council shall be conscientiously implemented. Efforts shall be grounded in the new development stage, the new development philosophy shall be applied in a complete, accurate, and comprehensive manner, a new development pattern shall be created, the RCEP shall be implemented at high standards, the strategy for the improvement of free trade zones shall be implemented, a globally oriented network of high-standard free trade zones shall be built, further opening-up shall be promoted, and an open world economy shall be developed.
II. Overall Objectives
In-depth reform shall be promoted by opening up at a high level through high-quality RCEP implementation. RCEP development opportunities shall be seized in commensurate with all local development strategies to promote high-quality local development. Enterprises shall be guided and encouraged to seize the opportunity of RCEP implementation to further improve trade and investment development, expand international cooperation, raise quality standards, promote industrial upgrading, and enhance their competitiveness in the international market.
III. Key Tasks
(I) Making good use of market opening-up commitments and rules under the RCEP to promote the high-quality development of trade and investment.
1. The development of trade in goods shall be promoted. Enterprises are encouraged to make good use of the tax reduction commitments of member states to expand the export of advantageous products such as clothes, shoes, luggage, toys, furniture, electronic products, machinery equipment, automobile parts, motorcycles, chemical fiber, and agricultural products in light of the tax reduction commitments of member states and industry characteristics, actively expand the import of advanced technologies, important equipment, key parts and components, and raw materials, among others, and support the import of daily consumer goods, medicine, rehabilitation equipment, and elderly care equipment, among others. (The Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and all local people's governments shall be responsible according to the division of duties.)
2. The practical effects of the preferential rules of origin shall be ensured. The implementation of the rules of origin and certificate function management shall be further strengthened, explorations shall be made in building the electronic network jointly with RCEP member states, expanding the scope of countries to which self-service printed certificates apply, and enhancing the intelligence level of certificates as well as the accuracy and standardization of certificates. The approved exporter system shall be implemented, enterprises are encouraged to make good use of the regional cumulation rules of origin and guided to make sufficient and good use of the facilitating measures under the independent declaration of origin. Import and export enterprises shall be promptly assisted in communicating and resolving the problem of being obstructed from enjoying preferences. (The General Administration of Customs and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade shall be responsible according to the division of duties.)
3. Customs procedures and trade facilitation rules shall be implemented at high standards. Except under special circumstances, the applications for certificates subject to import and export regulation shall be uniformly accepted through the “single window,” so as to realize paperless documents in customs clearance logistics to the maximum extent. All local port administrations shall be further urged and guided to implement the system of port charge lists and ensure that there are no charges beyond the lists. The mutual recognition and cooperation on Authorized Economic Operators (AEO)” with RCEP member states shall be actively promoted. The ports where conditions permit shall endeavor to take the facilitating measures of releasing the perishable goods and express deliveries originating from RCEP states that have arrived at the workplaces under customs regulation and for which complete information has been submitted within six hours after their arrival, provided that necessary conditions are met. (The General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Commerce shall be responsible according to the division of duties.)
4. International cooperation in animal and plant quarantine as well as food safety shall be strengthened. The sharing of information on animal and plant epidemics with RCEP member states shall be strengthened, international cooperation in the monitoring of animal and plant epidemics shall be promoted, and explorations shall be made in recognizing the equivalence of animal and plant quarantine measures among member states. The attention and research on the technical trade measures of RCEP member states shall be increased. The directory-based administration of accredited institutions shall be effectively carried out in accordance with the Law on Import and Export Commodity Inspection to lay a solid foundation for mutual recognition under the RCEP framework. (The General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shall be responsible according to the division of duties.)
5. The opening-up of trade in services shall be enhanced. The commitments on the opening-up of trade in services under the RCEP shall be properly implemented to facilitate the fulfillment of commitments on services such as the research and development of the manufacturing industry, management consulting, elderly care services, and professional design on a case-by-case basis. The conversion of the specific schedule of commitments on services from a positive list to a negative list shall be completed as soon as possible within six years after the RCEP takes effect as committed under the RCEP. Necessary facilitation shall be provided for the cross-border flow of various business personnel, such as investors, mobile personnel of companies, contract service providers, and their accompanying spouses and family members from different countries in the region. (The Ministry of Commerce, all relevant departments, and all local people's governments shall be responsible according to the division of duties.)
6. Investment liberalization and facilitation shall be improved. The commitments in the negative list of investment under the RCEP shall be fulfilled to ensure the proper implementation of opening-up measures. The improvement of special administrative measures for foreign investment access applicable to China and pilot free trade zones (negative list) shall be promoted, the arrangements on orderly opening up the sectors such as telecommunications, the Internet, education, culture, and medical care under the Outline of the “14th Five-Year” Plan shall be effectively implemented, and opening up shall be further expanded under the premise that national security is guaranteed. (All relevant departments and all local people's governments shall be responsible according to the division of duties.)
7. The facilitation, quality, and efficiency of foreign investment shall be improved. Enterprises shall be propelled to participate in the remodeling of regional industrial and supply chains and the green and low-carbon development of foreign investment shall be directed. Foreign investment shall be further facilitated and the use of electronic permits and certificates shall be popularized. Overseas economic and trade cooperation zones shall be constructed at high standards and the coordinated development of cooperation zones and domestic parks shall be improved. The protection of foreign investment shall be strengthened to safeguard enterprises' lawful rights and interests. (All relevant departments and all local people's governments shall be responsible according to the division of duties.)
8. The protection of intellectual property rights shall be strengthened. High-level protection of copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications, patents, designs, genetic resources, traditional knowledge, folk literature and arts, and trade secrets, among others, shall be provided in accordance with the RCEP intellectual property rules. China's intellectual property right protection system shall be improved, law enforcement shall be reinforced, and the crackdown on piracy, counterfeiting, and other acts of infringement shall be strengthened. The effective connection among administrative law enforcement, judicial protection, and social co-governance for intellectual property rights shall be strengthened. Research shall be conducted on the formulation of guidelines for the cross-border protection of e-commerce intellectual property rights. More public services shall be provided for intellectual property rights and the response to overseas intellectual property disputes and assistance in rights protection shall be strengthened. The accession to international treaties in the field of intellectual property rights shall be facilitated in accordance with the provisions of the RCEP. (The Ministry of Commerce, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the General Administration of Customs, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and all local people's governments shall be responsible according to the division of duties.)
