Major foreign trade base Zhejiang benefits from China-Serbia FTA

China

Major foreign trade base Zhejiang benefits from China-Serbia FTA

2024-07-01 17:37 Last Updated At：19:37

Zhejiang Province in east China, one of the major foreign trade bases in the country, can enjoy more benefits brought by the China-Serbia free trade agreement (FTA) which takes effect on July 1.

With the FTA coming into effect on Monday, over 60 percent of the taxable items traded between China and Serbia can enjoy zero tariffs immediately and the tariffs on over 95 percent of the products will be gradually reduced to zero, covering major trade goods of both sides.

Wolong Electric Group Co., Ltd. is a Zhejiang-based private enterprise that produces various types of motors, drive controls, fans and other products. As a leading enterprise in the motor industry, the company not only has multiple manufacturing bases in China, but also has factories in overseas locations, including Bor and Subotica in Serbia.

"Our company currently mainly imports generator parts from Serbia. After the agreement comes into effect, the import tariff will be reduced from 8 percent to 6.4 percent, and will gradually drop to 0 within 5 years, which really helps us save the cost," said Wang Li, director of the sales and service management center of the company.

With the FTA in place, Zhejiang's exports to Serbia of mechanical basic parts, general mechanical equipment, textiles, electrical equipment and other commodities, and imports from Serbia of compressors, wine, electrical equipment and other commodities can enjoy tariff concessions.

"After the China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement comes into effect, enterprises in Zhejiang can enter the Serbian market more conveniently. Zhejiang's traditional advantageous industries such as textiles, mechanical basic parts and electrical equipment can enter the Serbian market at more competitive prices," said Zhang Rufeng, deputy chief of the Second Comprehensive Business Section of Shaoxing Customs. According to the statistics from Hangzhou Customs, Zhejiang Province's imports and exports to Serbia from January to May this year amounted to 2.25 billion yuan (about 310 million U.S. dollars), an increase of 40.2 percent. The exports amounted to 1.65 billion yuan, an increase of 23.8 percent, and imports reached 600 million yuan, a substantial increase of 121.1 percent. The entry into force of the agreement will further benefit Zhejiang's import and export trade with Serbia.

5.1 pct more China-Europe freight trains pass through northeast China’s ports in H1

2024-07-03 21:53 Last Updated At：22:17

The east route of the China-Europe freight train service, which includes three ports in northeast China, handled 5.1 percent more train trips in the first half of 2024, according to data released by the China Railway Harbin Bureau Group.

Statistics showed that the three ports -- the Manzhouli Port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Suifenhe and Tongjiang ports in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province -- witnessed the passage of 2,899 trains during the first six months of this year, up 5.1 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, some 304,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods were transported during the period, up 3.4 percent compared to the same period of last year.

The east route extends to reach 14 countries in Europe and links with more than 60 domestic cities.

Comprising 26 lines, the east route has become vital for the transport of 12 major categories of cargo, including electrical products and daily necessities among others.