On May 11, 2023, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Ecuadorian Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries Prado formally signed the "Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Ecuador" via video on behalf of their respective governments.

Negotiating and signing the China-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement is an important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries. The negotiations started in February 2022, and after one year of efficient negotiations, they were announced to end in February 2023. Through the free trade agreement, China and Ecuador will achieve a high level of mutual opening up, create a more favorable, convenient, transparent and stable business environment for enterprises, further stimulate the potential of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, and promote the comprehensive upgrading of China-Ecuador economic and trade cooperation. Promote the sustainable, stable and diversified development of bilateral trade, and continuously improve the well-being of the people and enterprises of the two countries.

After the signing of the agreement, the two sides will implement their respective domestic procedures to promote the early entry into force and implementation of the agreement.

main content

The agreement consists of a preamble and 17 chapters. In the field of trade in goods and related rules, it includes 6 chapters including national treatment of goods and market access, rules of origin and implementation procedures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade. In other fields, there are 4 chapters including investment cooperation, e-commerce, competition, and economic cooperation. In addition, the agreement also includes 7 legal and institutional chapters including initial clauses, general definitions, transparency, dispute settlement, management, exceptions, and final clauses, as well as national treatment and exceptions to import and export restrictions, tariff commitment schedule, Andean price range system, product-specific There are 6 appendices, including rules of origin, certificates of origin, and arbitration procedure rules.

important important

The China-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement is the 20th free trade agreement signed by China, and Ecuador has become China's 27th free trade partner and China's fourth free trade partner in Latin America after Chile, Peru and Costa Rica. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and Ecuador will reach 13.1 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 19.7%, and the growth rate has exceeded double digits for two consecutive years. China is Ecuador's second largest trading partner. Ecuador is an important economic and trade partner of China in Latin America, a source of imports of agricultural, fishery, energy and mineral products, and an important partner in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The signing of the China-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement is a specific measure to implement the "promoting high-level opening up" proposed by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and it is the latest practice in expanding the network of high-standard free trade zones facing the world.

The China-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement will create a more favorable, convenient, transparent and stable business environment for enterprises of the two countries, further stimulate the potential of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, promote the all-round improvement and upgrading of China-Ecuador economic and trade cooperation, and promote the continuous and stable bilateral trade , diversified development, and continuously improve the well-being of the people and enterprises of the two countries. At the same time, the signing of the China-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement also reflects the common will and firm determination of the two countries to promote trade liberalization and facilitation, and sends a positive signal to the international community to support multilateralism and free trade and promote the stable recovery of the global economy.

multi-field cooperation

In the field of investment cooperation, the two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in investment promotion and investment facilitation, mainly including sharing and exchanging investment information, improving the transparency of the investment environment, and simplifying the application and approval procedures. Environmental measures, corporate social responsibility, etc. Sustainability clause.

In the field of e-commerce, the two parties made provisions on transparency, electronic transactions, electronic authentication and signature, online consumer protection, personal information protection, paperless transactions, unsolicited commercial electronic information, network equipment, network security cooperation, data innovation, etc. , to encourage enterprises of the two countries, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to explore markets through e-commerce.

In the field of competition, on the basis of acknowledging the independence of competition law enforcement, the two sides reached agreement on law enforcement principles, transparency, law enforcement cooperation, notification, consultation, information exchange, technical cooperation, consumer protection, etc. A favorable business environment will promote trade and investment exchanges between enterprises of the two countries.

In the field of economic cooperation, the two sides agreed to encourage government departments, industries and relevant institutions to cooperate in the fields of agriculture, fishery and aquaculture, small and medium-sized enterprises, export promotion, tourism, science and technology and innovation, education, culture, traditional medicine, and the environment.

In addition, the two sides will further conduct negotiations on areas of common interest in the future to upgrade the free trade agreement.Editor/Ma Xue