(Economic Observation) China Serbia Free Trade Agreement "Running Forward"
2024-05-11
The Chinese side announced that with the joint efforts of both sides, the agreement will officially come into effect on July 1st this year. In the network of China's free trade zones, there are two notable aspects of the China Serbia Free Trade Agreement: from a regional perspective, it is the first free trade agreement signed between China and Central and Eastern European countries; From the perspective of the process, it took less than a year and a half from the official launch of negotiations on the agreement in April 2023 to its full completion, and then to the signing and formal implementation of the agreement, which is not commonly seen in the free trade agreements signed by China. Liu Zuokui, Deputy Director of the European Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with China News Agency that the progress of the China Serbia Free Trade Agreement is smooth, thanks to the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, which fully highlights the high level of political mutual trust between the two sides and is also a manifestation of high-level mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Serbia. According to the person in charge of the International Department of the Ministry of Commerce of China, after the China Serbia Free Trade Agreement takes effect, both sides will cancel tariffs on 90% of each tax item, of which more than 60% will be cancelled tariffs immediately after the agreement takes effect. Both sides ultimately achieved a zero tariff import ratio of around 95%. Specifically, Serbia will include China's key focus on automobiles, photovoltaic modules, lithium batteries, communication equipment, mechanical equipment, refractory materials, and some agricultural and aquatic products in zero tariffs. The tariffs on related products will gradually decrease from the current 5% -20% to zero. The Chinese side will include generators, electric motors, tires, beef, wine, nuts, and other products that Serbia focuses on in zero tariffs, and the tariffs on related products will gradually decrease from 5% to 20% to zero. This means that in the future, China's exports of advantageous products such as automobiles, photovoltaic modules, and lithium batteries to Serbia will further expand, and Serbia's main export products such as beef, wine, and nuts will also enter the Chinese market at more favorable prices. "This is a win-win situation," Liu Zuokui said. In addition, both China and Serbia have made legally binding commitments to each other in the agreement, including rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical standards, and other aspects. This will provide a more stable and transparent business environment for cooperation between enterprises of the two countries, further enhancing the level of trade facilitation between the two countries. The head of the Ministry of Commerce stated that promoting trade liberalization and facilitation between China and Serbia is not only beneficial for expanding bilateral trade, but also for promoting investment cooperation and industrial chain integration, better leveraging their respective comparative advantages, and jointly enhancing international competitiveness. In addition to bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" will also benefit from the entry into force of the China Serbia Free Trade Agreement. Liu Zuoqui said that, considering that Serbia is an important partner of China in the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", the entry into force of the China Serbia Free Trade Agreement will make the bilateral trade ties more secure, and the quality of economic and trade cooperation upgraded from the perspective of institutional arrangements, "like adding a new fuel to the burning flame", helping to jointly build the "the Belt and Road" with high quality. (Lai Xin She)
Edit：Yi Jing Responsible editor：Li Nian
Source：people.com.cn
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