China consists of four customs territories: the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Each customs territory is an independent member of the WTO as well. To strengthen and promote regional economic integration, the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan have concluded the CEPAs and the ECFA, respectively. The CEPAs and the ECFA are not only RTAs under the WTO, but also administrative agreements of China, which are unprecedented practices in the Multilateral Trading System. The implementation of the CEPAs and the ECFA go smoothly, and have been elevated to national policies of China, which will significantly promote the joint economic prosperity and development of the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Unprecedented RTA Practices between the Customs Territories of China
  Ⅰ. Introduction
  Ⅱ. Legal Status of the Four Customs Territories
  Ⅲ. Contents of the CEPAs and the ECFA
  Ⅳ. Nature of the CEPAs and the ECFA
  Ⅴ. Consistency with the WTO Rules
  Ⅵ. Implementation of the CEPAs and the ECFA
  Ⅶ. Conclusion
  Annex1: Differences between the mainland-Hong Kong CEPA and the ECFA

• Liang Zhang(International Law at Sun Yat-sen University, China)