Multiple industries are said to have been ushered into an era of massive development opportunities in Lishui city – located in East China's Zhejiang province – in the wake of the Jan 1 implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, or RCEP.

The signing of the accord in November 2020 by 15 countries – including China – formed the world's largest trading bloc. With the agreement now taking effect, the tariffs on goods traded among the members will be reduced to zero immediately or gradually – with more than 90 percent of the goods in the bloc eventually having zero tariffs.

"Before, we could only issue a non-preferential certificate of origin for our products exported to Japan and could not enjoy tariff concessions. After RCEP came into force, our company's export share to Japan is expected to further expand," said Wang Guangkun, chairman of Tianhe Agricultural Group Co Ltd.

In 2021, the company exported products worth nearly 50 million yuan ($7.9 million) to more than 20 countries and regions, with Japan accounting for more than 60 percent of the total.

In the first month after RCEP started operating, the company applied for seven RCEP trade certificates of origin, involving a total amount of 1.57 million yuan, saving nearly 10,000 yuan in tariff costs.

Lishui issued a total of 33 RCEP certificates of origin in January, with a total value of 10.85 million yuan, involving edible mushrooms, mechanical and electrical products, instruments and meters and other goods, achieving over 500,000 yuan of tariff reductions.

To help local businesses to better understand the rules of RCEP, the city has launched a dozen policy interpretation meetings.