China-Cambodia Free Trade Leaps into a New Era

Recently, Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia paid an official visit to China. In the meantime, China and Cambodia issued a joint statement stating that they will focus on strengthening agricultural product trade and agricultural cooperation, and bilateral economic and trade cooperation will usher in new opportunities.

Last year, three Cambodian agricultural products, including pangasius, corn, and longan, completed the export procedures to China and were allowed to enter the Chinese market. It is understood that at present, China and Cambodia are stepping up efforts to promote the export of Cambodian pepper, wild aquatic products, bird's nest, coconut, etc. to China. Driven by the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement and RCEP, more and more high-quality Cambodian agricultural products have entered the "vegetable basket" of Chinese people, enriching the table of Chinese families.

The interviewed experts said that China and Cambodia are highly complementary in the field of agricultural product trade. In the future, with the in-depth implementation of the China-Cambodia Bilateral Free Trade Agreement and RCEP and the construction and upgrading of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, it is expected that the two countries will have a broader development space in the field of agricultural product trade.

Has a broad space for development

"Agricultural products are important traditional trade commodities between China and Cambodia, but the current scale of agricultural product trade is less than US$1 billion. In the field of agricultural product trade, China and Cambodia are highly complementary and have great potential for future development." Ministry of Commerce Research Yuan Bo, deputy director of the Asian Research Institute of the Academy, further analyzed in an interview with the International Business Daily reporter. From the perspective of agricultural product imports, Cambodia is a large agricultural country. Its high-quality rice, rubber, cassava, starch, cashew nuts, mangoes, pepper, and fish There is a lot of room for consumption in the Chinese market. From the perspective of agricultural product exports, China's temperate fruits, tea, wine and various foods also have great market demand in Cambodia.

On January 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement will come into force at the same time, and policy dividends will be gradually released. A major benefit of RCEP's entry into force is that lower tariffs will bring about lower import costs and more export opportunities. According to the agreement, more than 90% of the goods trade in the region will eventually achieve zero tariffs. The China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement is the first bilateral free trade agreement in Cambodia's history. According to the agreement, China has granted 97.53% of the zero-tariff items for Cambodian trade in goods, and Cambodia has given China zero-tariff for 90% of the tax items, which is the highest level in all free trade agreement negotiations between the two sides.

Longan has become the third Cambodian fresh fruit that can be directly exported to China after bananas and mangoes, and it is also a highlight of Cambodia's exports to China. It is understood that on March 16, 2022, China and Cambodia signed a protocol on plant quarantine requirements for fresh longan exported to China; on May 19, the General Administration of Customs of China issued the "Announcement on Plant Quarantine Requirements for Importing Fresh Longan from Cambodia" On October 27, the launching ceremony for the export of Cambodian fresh longan to China was held in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, marking the official realization of the export of Cambodian longan to China; on November 15, the first batch of 338 tons of Cambodian longan landed in the Chinese market.

"China and Cambodia have further reduced tariffs under the framework of the China-Cambodia Bilateral Free Trade Agreement and RCEP, opened their markets to each other, promoted the implementation of trade facilitation measures, and promoted the access of Cambodian high-quality agricultural products to China, providing a good system for agricultural product trade Cooperation environment. In the future, with the in-depth implementation of the China-Cambodia bilateral free trade agreement and RCEP and the construction and upgrading of the China-ASEAN free trade agreement, it is expected that the two countries will have a broader development space in the field of agricultural product trade." Yuan Bo said.

Unleash further development potential

The "Joint Statement on Building a China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future in the New Era" jointly issued by China and Cambodia mentioned that the two sides agreed to discuss the creation of a "fish and rice corridor" centered on the northwestern part of Cambodia and the Tonle Sap Lake area, and develop a modern ecology near the lake. agriculture. Accelerate the preparation of Cambodia's modern agricultural development plan, discuss the development of digital agriculture cooperation, and support the upgrading of Cambodia's competitive industries such as aquaculture and tropical planting. Strengthen customs inspection and quarantine cooperation, actively promote the access of Cambodian high-quality agricultural products to China, continue to promote the "single window" interconnection, and promote the development of bilateral trade. Make good use of the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" and the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement, promote the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 negotiations, and use the bilateral e-commerce cooperation mechanism and the China International Import Expo, China Import and Export Fair, and China-ASEAN Expo and other platforms to enhance the competitiveness and popularity of Cambodian agricultural products and other commodities in China, and promote bilateral trade to new heights.

Regarding how to further promote the trade of agricultural products between China and Cambodia in the future, Yuan Bo suggested that, on the one hand, actively fulfill the commitments such as the China-Cambodia Bilateral Free Trade Agreement and RCEP, implement 6-hour fast customs clearance for fresh agricultural products while reducing tariffs, and promote single-window cooperation , promote the electronic exchange and mutual recognition of customs clearance documents, strengthen the mutual recognition of inspection and quarantine standards in the field of agricultural products, create a better development environment for agricultural product trade, and further release the development potential of agricultural product trade between the two countries. On the other hand, strengthen cooperation in new forms of trade such as cross-border e-commerce. Deepen China-Cambodia "Silk Road E-commerce" cooperation, encourage localities and enterprises to create e-commerce platforms for China-Cambodia agricultural product trade, and set up public overseas warehouses in Cambodia to promote mutual benefit and win-win results in agricultural product trade between the two countries, so that more farmers from the two countries can benefit from it benefit.

In addition, Yuan Bo also said that investment and cooperation in the agricultural field should be strengthened. Agriculture is an important pillar industry for Cambodia's economic development. Rice, cassava, corn, sugarcane, tropical fruits, natural rubber and other crops and fisheries have great potential for development, and the arable land area also has a lot of room for utilization. Therefore, Chinese enterprises should be encouraged to invest in the agricultural field in Cambodia, so as to drive trade growth through investment, and at the same time promote Cambodia to improve its agricultural technology capabilities and the added value of agricultural products.