china-hong-kong-macau -

China-Hong kong-Macau Free Trade Agreements

Approved by the State Council, June 28, 2017, Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Yan and the Hong Kong SAR Government Financial Secretary Chen Maobo signed in Hong Kong in Hong Kong and Hong Kong “CEPA Investment Agreement” and “CEPA Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement.”

The two agreements will take effect from the date of signature, and the “CEPA Investment Agreement” will be implemented on January 1, 2018.

Vice Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, Liang Zhenying, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Qiu Hong, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, attended and signed the signing ceremony.

Trade framework based on one country, two systems:

The “CEPA Investment Agreement” and the “CEPA Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement” are an important part of the upgrading of CEPA. The special economic and trade arrangements made by the Mainland and Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” framework in accordance with the WTO rules fully reflect the central economic and social development of Hong Kong. Long-term prosperity and stability of the support.

The CEPA Investment Agreement is a new subcomponent of CEPA, which consists of four chapters and three Annexes, covering all aspects of investment access, investment protection and investment promotion, docking international rules and both , A high degree of openness, protection efforts, for the two economic and trade exchanges and cooperation to provide a more systematic institutional protection.

Open business platform

In terms of investment access, the “CEPA Investment Agreement” will further enhance the level of investment liberalization between the two places.

Following the CEPA Trade in Services Agreement, the Mainland has once again adopted a “negative list” approach to Hong Kong in terms of market access. This is also the first time that the mainland has signed an investment agreement with a “negative list” approach.

According to the agreement, the Mainland has only retained 26 non-compliance measures in the field of non-service investment, and has adopted more favorable open measures in the areas of shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, resource and energy exploitation, financial market investment and so on, and made clear that in the field of investment Hong Kong will benefit Hong Kong from the highest level of opening up to the outside world.

Set up a commercial dispute settlement mechanism

In terms of investment protection, “CEPA Investment Agreement” on the collection of investment compensation, transfer, etc., to give the international high level of investment protection treatment.

With regard to the dispute settlement between the investor and the investment destination, the two sides jointly designed a set of dispute settlement mechanism in line with the principle of “one country, two systems”, including friendly consultation, complaint coordination, notification and coordination, mediation, judicial channels, To provide comprehensive and effective institutional arrangements for the relief and security of investors in the two places.

The CEPA Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation includes a comprehensive review, update, classification and summary of the contents of CEPA and its 10 supplementary agreements on economic and technical cooperation, as well as new cooperation contents based on the actual needs of economic and trade cooperation between the two places, A total of seven sections of 26 articles.

Maintain Hong Kong’s competitive advantage

Mainland and Hong Kong are the most important investment partners. Through the “CEPA Investment Agreement”, the Mainland will further expand its opening to Hong Kong and maintain CEPA as the highest level of opening up to the Mainland, which will directly benefit Hong Kong investors’ investment in the Mainland. To maintain Hong Kong’s competitive edge and to provide new space for Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability and to create more favorable conditions.

At the same time, the “CEPA Investment Agreement” will also invest in Hong Kong and mainland China to invest in Hong Kong to achieve a more comprehensive and comprehensive investment protection.

Through the “CEPA Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement”, we will include Hong Kong in the “development of all the way” and the contents of the sub-regional cooperation, so that Hong Kong will be integrated into the national development strategy and participate in the overall situation of national reform and opening up, which is conducive to the comprehensive and deepening of the Mainland and Hong Kong’s economy Integration, to achieve common development.