The accelerated formation of cooperation links across the Pacific Ocean - the continuous expansion and quality improvement of the China Latin America Free Trade Agreement network

According to statistics, in the first quarter, Ningbo Customs issued over 10000 certificates of origin for Latin American countries, with a total value of over 2.5 billion yuan. At present, China has signed and implemented free trade agreements with Latin American countries such as Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Nicaragua, and the China Latin America Free Trade Agreement network has begun to take shape and continues to improve. The institutional opening-up dividends brought about by the agreement, such as tariff reduction, customs clearance facilitation, and efficient inspection and quarantine, continue to be released, injecting lasting momentum into the high-quality development of China Latin America economy and trade.

Since its operation in November 2024, Qiankai Port, the landmark project of the "the Belt and Road" jointly built by China and Peru (Shandong), has seen a steady increase in cargo throughput. It will become the third largest port in Peru one year after its operation, effectively driving the optimization and upgrading of the regional industrial chain supply chain. Hu Ning, the head of the export department of Ningbo Asia Pulp and Paper Industry Co., Ltd., said, "In the first quarter of 2026, our company's growth in free trade partner markets such as Chile, Peru, and Ecuador was steady. After the opening of Qiankai Port, the shipping distance between China and Peru was shortened by more than 10 days, and logistics costs decreased by about 30%. Coupled with favorable exchange rates, the company's export expectations for Latin America for the whole year are positive

To help enterprises make good use of the benefits of free trade agreements, Ningbo Customs has compiled a list of tariff reductions for Latin American goods, interpreted tariff preferences and rules of origin, and guided enterprises to explore emerging markets such as Honduras. In response to the concentration of export orders and the acceleration of production pace, customs has normalized the docking of enterprise clearance needs, ensuring efficient customs clearance and timely delivery of goods, and consolidating overseas market share.

At present, China Latin America cooperation is accelerating its transformation and upgrading. Chinese enterprises are shifting from simple commodity exports to full chain cooperation, paying more attention to localized supply chain layout, employment promotion, and integrated production development. Xiong Yinghui, Logistics Director of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, introduced: "By 2026, Geely's new energy vehicle exports to Latin America will account for 30% of its total vehicle exports. The company's export business to Latin America is in a critical period of rapid growth and strategic upgrading, and is deepening local cooperation to accelerate the deployment of new energy products and steadily improve regional market share and brand influence

In the process of improving the China Latin America Free Trade Network and continuously upgrading the cooperation mode, Ningbo Customs relies on practical measures such as policy interpretation, customs clearance facilitation measures, optimization of origin services, and risk warning guarantee, focusing on key export enterprises, implementing a "one enterprise, one policy" precise assistance mechanism, fully leveraging the demonstration role of the "China Customs Origin Service Platform", and achieving a self-service printing rate of origin certificates of 97%, injecting strong momentum into high-quality economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America. (Lin Miao, Jiang Xin/Wen)