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Original title: China and New Zealand sign a protocol to update the free trade agreement
On January 26, Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce and O’Connor, Minister of Trade and Export Growth of New Zealand, respectively, on behalf of the governments of the two countries, formally signed the “Regulations between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the New Zealand government in update<中华人民共和国政府与新西兰政府自由贸易协定>The “Protocol” (hereinafter referred to as the “Update Protocol”) has realized that the free trade relations between China and New Zealand have further improved the quality and efficiency on the basis of the “Economic Partnership Agreement Integral Regional “(RCEP). Among them, further progress has been made in the fields of trade in goods, trade in services, investment and regulations, and promised to strengthen cooperation in e-commerce, competition policy, public procurement, environment And trade.
Minister Wang Wentao said that the signing of the “Upgrade Protocol” is a concrete action by China to practice multilateralism and build an open world economy. It is an important measure to implement the strategy to improve the free trade area. It will promote China and New Zealand further deepen practical cooperation in various fields and improve the two sides. The interests of state-owned enterprises and the well-being of the population continue to enrich and enrich the connotation of the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership.
The “Upgrade Protocol” further improves quality and efficiency based on RCEP. The main content includes: the opening of the market for some new wood and paper products in the cargo field, and further optimization of the rules of origin, technical trade barriers, customs facilitation and other trade rules. In the field of trade in services, on the basis of RCEP, China has further expanded the opening of aviation, education, finance, pensions and passenger transport to New Zealand. In arranging work permits for special types of work, Singapore’s side doubled the fees for Chinese language teachers and Chinese tour guides who have applied for a new job for a large number of Chinese citizens, to 300 and 200 respectively. In the investment area, Singapore has relaxed the review threshold for Chinese investment and confirmed that it will give Chinese investment the same review threshold treatment as members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). In the regulatory area, the two parties committed to strengthening cooperation in the fields of electronic commerce, competition policy, public procurement, the environment and trade. Among them, the chapter on environment and trade goes beyond the RCEP and reached a high level in improving environmental protection, strengthening environmental law enforcement and complying with multilateral environmental agreements. Terms of horizontal cooperation.
Peng Bo, a research associate at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said in an interview with a reporter for the Economic Information Daily that although New Zealand’s economy is not large, the increase in trade brought about by the “Update Protocol” has a limited direct impact on the Chinese economy, but the indirect impact is greater. Large, with strong pointing and demonstration meaning.
Peng Bo pointed out that the update of the “Update Protocol” is reflected in many respects. Among them, in the field of trade in services, he pointed out the direction of China’s further openness in the future, laying the foundation for China to further deepen economic ties with other countries and regions, and encouraging high-quality resources from other countries to invest more in China.
Peng Bo said that in the field of investment, it reflects China’s increased ability to invest abroad, increased confidence of other countries in Chinese capital, and the adoption of a more open attitude, further expanding more space for Chinese companies to “go global” and also help China to join the CPTPP. A preliminary attempt was made.
Peng Bo also noted that the strengthening of cooperation between the two sides in the fields of e-commerce, competition policy and government procurement is conducive to the expansion of Sino-Singaporean trade and the well-being of the two peoples. It also shows that China is willing to cooperate with capital from other countries in a more fair and open way. Explore the implementation of the principle of competitive neutrality.
In Peng Bo’s view, since the outbreak of the epidemic, the volume of world trade has dropped dramatically and competition between countries has been fierce. Some countries have embraced market protectionism and anti-globalization development paths, which have adversely affected global economic and trade stability. The signing of the “Enhancement Protocol” between China and Singapore has set a good example to improve international economic and trade relations and has played an important positive guiding role.
