Chinese customs give the best tariff treatment to Hong Kong, Macao, Chile and New Zealand, according to a World Trade Organization (WTO) report.

China applies preferential tariffs under its preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and regional trade agreements (RTAs). 

In China‘s RTAs, the percentage of duty-free tariff lines varies. 

For example, the WTO indicates that Hong Kong and Macau have 99.2 percent duty-free lines, while the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (Chinese Taipei) has 23.5 percent. 

However, data on the utilization of these preferential tariffs are not available.

The WTO was established in 1995 following the ratification of the Uruguay Round Agreements and today includes 164 members.

Chinese customs

In addition, China grants preferential tariff treatment to imports from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that have diplomatic relations with it. 

By February 2023, China applied zero tariffs to between 95.4% and 98.4% of tariff lines from these 44 LDCs. 

LDCs and China have communicated to the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin on the utilization rates of LDC exports under China’s preferential trade arrangement for LDCs.

Bound Tariffs

When China joined the WTO in 2001, it bound 100% of its tariffs at ad valorem rates. 

For agricultural products, the rates bound between 0 and 65 percent, and for non-agricultural products, between 0 and 50 percent. 

The arithmetic average of the final bound rates is 9.6 percent. 

This includes 15.1 percent for agricultural products and 8.7 percent for non-agricultural products.

Although all tariffs were bound at ad valorem rates, there are 31 tariff lines with non-ad valorem rates. 

The authorities assure that, in practice, the ad valorem equivalents of these lines do not exceed the bound rates, since the lower rate is applied.