An officer from Qingdao Customs guides a company staff member to print certificates of origin at the RCEP community service station. [Photo/Guanhai News]

The China-Serbia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) took effect on July 1, with Qingdao Customs issuing a certificate of origin under the agreement for a batch of drill rods exported from Shandong province to Serbia, marking the first such certificate of origin in Shandong.

The China-Serbia FTA is the first free trade agreement signed between China and a Central and Eastern European country. According to the agreement, China and Serbia will mutually eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of tariff lines, with over 60 percent of them being immediately eliminated upon the agreement's entry into force.

Hisense International Marketing Co Ltd, located in Qingdao, exports nearly 40,000 liquid crystal televisions to Serbia annually. Wu Tong, the company's customs manager, stated that Serbia is a new emerging market, which in recent years the company has been seeking to establish a stronger presence. In 2023, the company's exports to Serbia exceeded 300 million yuan ($41.26 million). The implementation of the agreement has enhanced the company's confidence in securing orders and expanding its market in the country.

Bi Haijun, an official from the Qingdao Customs, said that following the implementation of the China-Serbia FTA, the main benefiting industries in Shandong province are agricultural products, household appliances, photovoltaics, and mechanical components.

According to calculations, Shandong province's enterprises will be able to save approximately 7 million yuan in tariff costs by the second half of this year. In the future, Qingdao Customs will take a number of measures to help enterprises fully utilize the preferential policies such as tariff reductions and continue to deepen reforms and innovations in rules of origin management to help Shandong expand its foreign trade growth opportunities.