The free trade agreement (FTA) signed between China and Cambodia took effect Jan 1, and Yantai Jiyuan Fruit Products Company is among the first batch of companies in Yantai, East China's Shandong province that received China-Cambodia FTA certificates of origin from Yantai Customs.

The company exports apples worth more than 4 million yuan ($627,352.57) to Cambodia every year, and the China-Cambodia FTA certificate of origin is expected to help reduce tariffs for the company by nearly 300,000 yuan.

"Faced with the continuously rising transportation and labor costs, the implementation of the China-Cambodia FTA certificate of origin will help greatly reduce customs costs for enterprises and bring more tangible benefits to both enterprises and consumers," said Shi Yingmei, a staff member at Yantai Jiyuan Fruit Products Company.

According to the FTA that was officially signed in October 2020, China will provide tariff-free status to 97.53 percent of imports from Cambodia, which include clothing, shoes and agricultural products, and Cambodia will exempt tariffs on 90 percent of Chinese imports such as textiles and mechanical and electrical products.

The China-Cambodia FTA is expected to accelerate trade and investment liberalization and facilitation between the two countries and further unleash their huge cooperation potential due to the two countries’ complimentary economies as well as help enterprises explore the market in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Yantai Customs will launch training programs and encourage more enterprises to apply for the China-Cambodia FTA certificates of origin, to help foreign trade enterprises enjoy preferential tariffs when they export goods.

Yantai Jiyuan Fruit Products Company's orchards are full of ripe apples, which boast a bright red color and taste sweet. [Photo by Qi Xuan/chinadaily.com.cn]