Mutual tariff cuts between China and six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 7,455 commodities came into effect yesterday, in line with a trade agreement signed in Vientiane, Laos last November.

They affect goods with certificates of origin issued by organizations authorized by the governments of Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.

In Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, 946 trade companies have applied to register for a certificate of origin.

The General Administration of Customs has also opened a special office in Shenzhen, another major port for ASEAN trade in Guangdong Province, to specialize in granting them.

The implementation of tariff cuts under the Agreement on Trade in Goods of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation is hoped to expand trade and be of far-reaching significance in the future development of economic relations.

By 2010, China and the six older members of ASEAN, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, aim to impose zero tariffs on many products, as do China and ASEAN's four newer members, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, by 2015.

The Sino-ASEAN free trade zone that will be created currently has a population of 1.7 billion and a GDP of US$2 trillion, plus US$1.2 trillion in trade terms. It will be the third largest global trading region after the EU and the North American Free Trade Agreement area.

China has already signed a zero-tariff agreement on fruit with Thailand, in force since last year.

(China Daily July 21, 2005)