At midnight on New Year's Day, Changzhou Customs issued the city’s first RCEP certificate of origin to a batch of men’s cotton shirts worth 380,000 yuan, which is set to be exported to Japan by Chenfeng (Jiangsu) Garments Co., Ltd. This certificate is expected to help reduce tariffs for the company by 2,000 yuan.

"The RCEP agreement will help us save about three million yuan in tariffs this year," said Yang Hongwei, manager of Chenfeng's Sustainability Department.

On the same day, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and local authorities issued 158 RCEP certificates of origin for 69 Chinese enterprises from 12 provinces and cities.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which took effect on Jan 1 in China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and six ASEAN member countries, covers roughly 30 percent of the world's population, economic aggregate, and foreign trade.

Last year, Changzhou Customs issued more than 80,000 certificates of origin for local enterprises, 57 percent of which were for exports to RCEP member states.