During the first 10 months of this year, Harbin's imports and exports to the other 14 countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) reached 5.99 billion yuan ($854.49 million). This is a year-on-year increase of 24.5 percent and accounts for 21.1 percent of the city's foreign trade volume.
 
The main import commodities were metal ore and ore, and agricultural products and food. The main export commodities were agricultural products, mechanical and electrical products, and food.
 
The RCEP, the world's largest free trade deal, covers 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its five free-trade agreement partners: China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The RCEP began implementing its objectives on Jan 1 of this year.
 
Since it officially came into effect, Harbin Customs has guided enterprises on how to make the most out of the certificate of origin and tariff reduction policies.
 
Harbin Customs has also established RCEP assistance mechanism to help industries use the RCEP policies to expand imports and exports, and to improve the intelligence, accuracy and standardization of visa processes.
 
From January to October, a total of 325 RCEP certificates of origin were issued, and the total value of exports that were granted certificates of origin reached $12.47 million.