A farmer picks apples at an orchard in Yantai. The Yantai apple is bright in color and has a sweet and succulent taste. [Photo/VCG]

The bilateral agreement between China and the European Union (EU) on geographical indications (GI) took effect on March 1.

Through the deal, China and the EU mutually recognized geographical indications on a large scale for the first time. These indications cover more than 500 products including apple and wine products in Yantai, Shandong province.

The two parties also agreed that protected geographical indications can use the other party's official signs. This would be conducive to the development of the market for related products, the Ministry of Commerce said.

The China-EU GI agreement was signed on Sep 14, 2020 after 22 rounds of official negotiations that started in 2011. According to the statement, this is China's first comprehensive, high-level bilateral agreement on GIs, and the agreement will facilitate exports and imports of related products.

The Yantai apple has a current brand value of 14.51 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) and an annual production capacity of 5.74 million tons, accounting for one eighth of the country's total output. Yantai is also the largest wine production base in China.