China and Singapore Sign Protocol on Upgrading Free Trade Agreement

Release time:

2018-11-16

On November 12, witnessed by Premier Li Keqiang and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Fu Ziying, International Trade Negotiator and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, and Chen Zhensheng, Minister of Trade and Industry of Singapore, signed the Free Trade Agreement Upgrade Protocol in Singapore on behalf of the two governments..

The signing of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Upgrade Protocol is an important step to implement the "promoting the construction of free trade zones and promoting the construction of an open world economy" proposed by the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Economic and trade cooperation is of great significance. The signing of the "Protocol" will not only further enrich the connotation of China-New Zealand "all-round cooperative partnership that keeps pace with the times", but will also play a positive role in deepening the economic and trade relations between China and ASEAN.

The Protocol upgrades six areas of the original China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, including rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade remedies, trade in services, investment, and economic cooperation. It also adds e-commerce, competition policy and Three areas including the environment. The "Protocol" achieves the goal of comprehensive, high-level, mutually beneficial and win-win negotiations, which will help the two sides deepen practical cooperation in relevant fields and continuously enhance the well-being of enterprises and people of the two countries.

The two sides included the "Belt and Road" cooperation for the first time in the free trade agreement, emphasizing the importance of the "Belt and Road" initiative for deepening bilateral all-round cooperation, achieving common development goals, establishing and strengthening connectivity, and promoting regional peace and development. In the field of customs procedures and rules of origin, the two sides will present a higher level of trade facilitation, reduce the trade costs of enterprises, and simplify the specific rules of origin standards for some chemical products. In the field of service trade, the two sides upgraded the service trade commitments of the original free trade agreements, including express delivery, environment, air transportation, law, construction and sea transportation, so as to enhance the level of service trade liberalization. In the field of investment, the two sides agreed to give each other's investors a high level of investment protection, grant each other national treatment and most-favored-nation treatment at the post-entry stage, and incorporate a comprehensive dispute settlement mechanism between investors and host countries. In the field of movement of natural persons, the two sides also signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Singapore on the Transparency and Facilitation of Employment Pass Applications. The two sides also reached broad consensus in areas such as e-commerce, competition policy and the environment.

After the signing of the Protocol, the two sides will implement relevant domestic procedures to make the China-Singapore Free Trade Area Upgrade Agreement come into effect as soon as possible.

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