The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong and Macao has been working smoothly and yielded good results since it took effect in 2004, a senior commerce official said Tuesday.
The mainland has imported $2.3 billion worth of zero-tariff goods from Hong Kong and Macao under the CEPA framework by July-end of this year, Tang Wei, director of the Department of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs under the Ministry of Commerce, said at a conference in Xiamen, Fujian province.
The mainland signed the CEPA with Hong Kong and Macao in 2003 and then added six supplements to the framework.
The mainland has eliminated tariffs on goods imported from Hong Kong and Macao. In terms of trade in services, the mainland offered Hong Kong 250 favorable treatments in 42 sectors and offered Macao 237 favorable treatments in 41 sectors.
Tang called for further promotion about the CEPA to local commerce authorities in the mainland, as there are still enterprises in the mainland with inadequate knowledge about the program.
