Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique in Africa and Timor-Leste (East Timor) in Southeast Asia are the Portuguese-speaking countries enjoying preferential treatment under the new import rules approved by China, according to China Briefing.

The publication reported that the least developed countries that want to take advantage of the preferential treatment must register with the authorities in China which product or products will be exported and prove that they are actually national products.

The “Administrative Measures of the PRC on Customs Rules of Origin of Goods Imported from the Least Developed Countries Entitled to Special Preferential Tariff Treatment,” came into effect on 1 April this year in order to improve the administrative aspects related to the origin of imported goods.

China Briefing noted that the People’s Republic began granting preferential treatment to products from the least developed countries with which it had two-way diplomatic relations in 2002.

The main changes are the extension of the criteria for a product to be considered national, allowing more products to be considered as originating in a particular country and the ordering process, making the export of products more efficient than before.

The extension of the criteria is based on the fact that, due to current economic interdependence, it is sometimes difficult to determine the precise origin of a product, usually made from components with different origins.

Thus, the beneficiary countries of the new rules are allowed to use parts or components purchased in China or from nations in the same regional grouping. (macauhub)