Nanning Customs issued the first certificate of origin of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in South China - under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP - to the Philippines on June 2.

The certificate of origin was applied for by Nanning Paperjoy Paper Industry for 112 metric tons of paper for cup coatings, to be exported to the Philippines.

With the RCEP certificate of origin, the tariff will be reduced from 15 percent to zero when the products go through customs in the Philippines.

"The Philippines is an important export market for our company and we ship three batches of products to the Philippines every month," said Chen Zhongshu, Southeast Asia market manager of the Nanning Paperjoy Paper Industry.

Chen added that after RCEP takes effect in the Philippines, these products are expected to enjoy a tariff discount of 375,000 yuan ($52,758) in that country, which will greatly boost customer confidence and increase the scale of trade.

In addition, Guilin Exquel Group issued Guangxi's first RCEP declaration of origin for a batch of products exported to the Philippines through a "single window" declaration for international trade. The products, worth about 90,000 yuan, enjoyed a tariff discount of around 13,000 yuan in the Philippines.

Statistics from Nanning Customs showed that Guangxi's imports and exports to the Philippines reached 9.41 billion yuan in 2022, soaring by 128.4 percent year-on-year.

The implementation of RCEP in the Philippines is expected to further deepen China-Philippines commerce, unleash greater potential in foreign trade between the two countries, usher in new opportunities for regional industrial development and bring more tangible benefits to businesses.

From January to April this year, Nanning Customs issued 775 RCEP certificates of origin and declarations, involving products worth 432 million yuan.

These were mainly for new energy vehicles, agricultural products, chemicals, paper products, bamboo as well as wood and grass household products.