China's customs body prepares for RCEP's implementation

China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Wednesday that it has completed preparations for implementing 174 of the 701 obligations involving China under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

Scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2022, the agreement involves 10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The 15 states' total population, gross domestic product and trade all account for about 30 percent of the world's total.

Among the 174 items, 38 are related to rules of origin and tariff concessions, according to the GAC.

The total value of trade between China and the other 14 members reached 10.22 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion) in 2020, accounting for 31.7 percent of the world's total in the same period.

The figure hit 10.96 trillion yuan in the first 11 months of this year, accounting for 31 percent of the global figure.

After the RCEP agreement takes effect, more than 90 percent of merchandise trade between approved members will be eventually subject to zero tariffs.