The Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) for short, is an economic agreement between the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, signed on 29 June 2003.
[1] In the full name of "CEPA", the "Mainland" refers to the customs territory of the People's Republic of China.
CEPA is a free trade agreement pursuant to which qualifying products, companies and residents of Hong Kong enjoy preferential access to the mainland Chinese market.
Many of the preferences surpass the concessions made by China upon its accession to the World Trade Organization.
The CEPA document identifies the following objectives: "To strengthen trade and investment cooperation between Mainland China and Hong Kong and promote joint development of the two sides, through the implementation of the following measures: