At 0:00 on Jan. 1 this year, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into force, marking the sailing of a free trade zone being the largest in population, economic and trade scale with the greatest development potential in the world. As a free trade area in the northeastern region leading to the sea and air gates in the world, Dalian Free Trade Area, under the leadership of the Working Committee, Management Commission of Jinpu New District, comprehensively implements the work requirement of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government for high-quality implementation of RCEP, spares no effort to forge a new engine for deepening the RCEP regional economic and trade cooperation, a new highland for the RCEP enterprises entering Chinese cutting edge and high-quality docking with the RCEP economic and trade rules. Recently, the journalists from the major media in our city have visited Dalian Free Trade Area to physically experience the measures and achievements made by the Area to be first to seize the RCEP opportunity and make all efforts to forge an upgraded version of the pilot free trade zone, and published and broadcast a series of reports.

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In the workshop of Dalian Haier Air-conditioner Co., Ltd., 7 models of new air-conditioners produced for the Philippine market are undergoing complete unit testing and are expected to be mass-produced in July. After the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into force, the Philippines, among the ten ASEAN countries, has reduced its tariffs on Chinese air-conditioner export by about 5 percent. Driven by the favorable policies, Dalian Haier Air-conditioner Co., Ltd. has adjusted its strategy to focus on the ASEAN market. On mentioning the future development prospect, Zhou Changliang, General Manager of Dalian Haier Air-conditioner Co., Ltd., said with full confidence: "the factory in Dalian is expected to have orders of 10,000 units for export to Philippines this year, it is estimated that the volume planned for later stage is about 200,000 units, and the output value after product delivery will grow constantly at a scale of RMB 100 million yuan."

Since the RCEP came into force, the member countries have significantly lowered the tariffs on electromechanical products, auto parts, batteries and other sectors, with the customs clearance efficiency having also further improved. Dalian Free Trade Area is first to seize the opportunity by adopting a combination of measures to encourage the enterprises in the superiority sectors to deeply participate in the industrial chain cooperation in the RCEP region and expand the export of products to the RCEP countries. At the same time, Dalian Free Trade Area uses actively the RCEP benefits to plan key projects and upgrade the energy level of the superiority industries. Since this year, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc., under the influence of the policies of tariff reduction, etc., has had its export orders increased significantly, with its phase III project having commenced construction; the hydrogen energy fuel cell pack prototype of Toshiba Japan has successfully rolled off the production line and a mass production will soon begin; IRIS, Pole Star Electric, Komatsu Xionglian and other key Japanese enterprises have increased investment one after another. Contracts have been successfully signed for the Energy Vehicle Cell R&D Center of Prime Planet, ORIX Medical Equipment Bonded Financial Leasing, Korean High-end Cosmetics Production Base, Sinopec RCEP Hydrogen Energy International Cooperation and other projects.

Of which, the project of Sinopec RCEP Hydrogen Energy International Cooperation aims at  hydrogen energy equipment export to forge a bridgehead of the hydrogen energy industry oriented to the RCEP member countries. "We want to have the hydrogen equipment manufacturing base and purchasing center in the hydrogen energy plate of Sinopec located in Dalian Free Trade Area for export to Japan, Korea at the same time of meeting the domestic demands for hydrogen energy equipment to amplify the technological and capital advantages of Sinopec and the policy and location advantages of Dalian Free Trade Area, and make the hydrogen energy equipment manufacturing industry bigger and stronger." Wang Haibo, General Manager of Sinopec Fuel Oil Sales Co., Ltd. Liaoning Branch, said.

In the core area of Dalian Free Trade Area, Wanzhong Yuncang Cross Border E-commerce Industrial Park completed the engineering construction last month and will be put into use officially. With a project construction area of 50,000 square meters, it is the largest e-commerce complex in the northeastern region integrating the new bonded retail transaction of "taking delivery immediately on buying", bonded warehouse for goods preparation, cross-border e-commerce trading platform construction, with the main functions including cross-border commodity experience, new retail, holding various cross-border exhibition activities, providing cross-border meeting venues and fixed booths, bonded warehousing, bonded cold storage, etc. Dai Xiangqian, Chairman of Dalian Wanzhong Yuncang Technology Incubation Park Co., Ltd., said that in future, the industrial park would open the "online + offline" all-channel mode, combine the online product information with the offline user experience, allow the consumers to enjoy a brand new shopping experience as "shopping globally without going abroad", forge “Dalian RCEP Exhibition and Trade Center” and a comprehensive e-commerce service platform based in Dalian and radiating to the whole country. 

"The rapid development of Wanzhong Yuncang shows that the RCEP dividends have not only injected new vitality into the traditional industries, but also brought excellent opportunities for the explosive growth of the emerging industries." relevant principal of the Management Commission of the Free trade Area told the reporter. It is revealed that in order to promote the development and growth of the cross-border e-commerce industry, Dalian Free Trade Area has solicited, attracted rookie cross-border e-commerce warehouse projects and had them landed, which are expected to "open warehouse" in the near future; is promoting the construction of Shengshi Global Cross-border E-commerce Base, and building a new RCEP cross-border goods + live e-commerce platform; is accelerating the landing of the rookie project "New World Factory", opening up a new cross-border retail mode of "bonded import + retail processing" and forging a  high-quality product gathering base and consumption center of the RCEP member countries.

The reporter has also known that next, Dalian Free Trade Area will support the enterprises to expand the import of the advanced technologies, equipment and key components in the fields of auto parts, integrated circuit, intelligent equipment, etc. in combination with the progress of preferential tax rate adjustment by the RCEP member countries, and encourage the import of more energy and resources products and agricultural products in short supply; support the enterprises to  improve their international marketing network layout in the key RCEP markets, and increase the effort of publicity and promotion in the key markets such as Japan, South Korea and ASEAN; support large cross-border e-commerce platform enterprises to set up warehouse distribution centers in the zone, and increase the customs clearance and foreign exchange settlement facilitation level for the goods imported through cross-border e-commerce; encourage enterprises to make full use of the RCEP regional industrial and supply chains to strengthen their international industrial layout and carry out the new types of offshore trade business including entrusted overseas processing trade; in terms of industrial cooperation, focus on such superiority industries as automobile, integrated circuit, new energy and bio-medicine, and encourage the enterprises from Japan, Korea, Singapore and other RCEP regions to participate in the cultivation of key industrial chains; build a service center for enterprises going overseas, improve the service system for outbound investment, focus on the key countries and industries, deepen exchanges and cooperation, promote outbound investment by enterprises, and comprehensively strengthen the linkage development of the industrial clusters at home and abroad.