NANNING－On May 27, a cargo ship loaded with Malaysian manganese ore arrived at Beibu Gulf Port in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The ore was sent to the smelting workshop of South Manganese Group Ltd, which has the longest manganese industry chain in the world. There, it was made into electrolytic manganese dioxide before being sold domestically and exported to Japan as a raw material for new energy batteries.

This particular case of cross-border trade, industry and sale illustrates the power of the recently instituted Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in bringing economic benefits to China and its regional partners.

The RCEP has helped reduce tariffs on manganese ore from Malaysia from 3 percent to 2.4 percent, making the industrial chain connecting China, ASEAN and Japan more competitive in the international market, and promoting the development of the regional economy.

The RCEP agreement, the world's largest free-trade deal to date, came into force on the first day of 2022. Since then, it has brought tangible dividends to economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.

Customs data shows that in the first quarter, China's imports and exports to ASEAN reached 1.35 trillion yuan ($202.2 billion), an increase of 8.4 percent year-on-year, accounting for 14.4 percent of China's total foreign trade.

During the period, trade between China and ASEAN accounted for 47.2 percent－or nearly half－of China's foreign trade with RCEP partners, according to data. With the RCEP agreement, ASEAN has once again overtaken the EU to become China's largest trading partner.

Since the RCEP came into effect, it has brought great benefits to enterprises, founded on the reduction of import costs and the increase of export opportunities after tariff reductions. According to the agreement, more than 90 percent of goods traded in the region will eventually become tariff-free, which will greatly boost cross-border trade.