China to Grant Zero-Tariff Treatment to Leather Products from 16 Countries since September
According to the official website of the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China, by the "Announcement of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Granting Zero-Tariff Treatment to 98% Tax Items of Least Developed Countries" (Announcement No. 8 of 2021 of the Taxation Commission), as of September 1, 2022, the zero-tariff treatment is applicable to import 98% tariff items from 16 least developed countries, including the Republic of Togo, the State of Eritrea, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Djibouti, the Republic of Guinea, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Republic of Rwanda, the People's Republic of Bangladesh, the Republic of Mozambique, Nepal, the Republic of Sudan, the Solomon Islands, the Republic of Vanuatu, the Republic of Chad and the Central African Republic, etc. Among them, 98% of the tax items are tax items with a tax rate of 0 in the annex to Announcement No. 8 of 2021 by the Tax Commission, totaling 8,786.
Some experts said it indicates that the "Belt and Road" cooperation is further expanding and deepening. Hu Qimu, the chief researcher of Sinosteel Economic Research Institute, said that most of the 16 countries in the document are from Africa. Therefore, one of its purposes is to promote friendly cooperation between China and Africa. "Over the years, in the process of its economic takeoff, China has not forgotten to drive the economic development of African least developed countries. It has strengthened policy efforts to allow African least developed countries to enjoy the Chinese market dividend, support the development of their national industries, and promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind."
The data shows that from January to June 2022, the non-financial direct investment of Chinese enterprises in the countries along the “Belt and Road” was 65.03 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.9% (equivalent to 10.03 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%), accounting for 18.5% of the total for the same period. %, an increase of 0.7 percentage points over the same period of the previous year. The funds were mainly invested in Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, etc.
By the end of 2021, under China's relevant commitments to grant zero-tariff treatment to some products of the least developed countries, China has granted zero-tariff treatment to 97% of the products of 42 countries including the Republic of Angola, and 95% of the products of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
The Tariff Commission of the State Council said this is conducive to practicing the spirit of China-Africa friendly cooperation, sharing market opportunities with these countries, achieving common development, and promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. China will continue to give zero-tariff treatment to 98% of the products of the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China under the progress of the exchange of letters.