THE Chinese mainland and Hong Kong yesterday signed a supplement to an important trade agreement to give the city's firms preferential measures in trade in goods and services and to facilitate trade and investment.

The Supplement VIII to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, representing the eighth update since 2004, was signed by John Tsang, Hong Kong's financial secretary, and Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Yaoping in Hong Kong at a ceremony witnessed by the city's Chief Executive Donald Tsang.

The new supplement provides for a total of 32 measures to liberalize services and facilitate trade and investment, including 23 liberalization measures in 16 service sectors, and strengthens cooperation in areas such as finance, tourism, innovation and technology.

Of the 32 measures, 15 relate to the implementation of measures unveiled by Vice Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Hong Kong in August.

The new supplement in goods trading allows Hong Kong's traders to include the value of raw materials and component parts originating from the mainland when calculating the "value-added content." The value allowed to be included into the calculation can be up to half of the "value-added content" (15 percent). The measure facilitates the trade to make use of the zero tariff preferential treatment offered to Hong Kong goods under the CEPA.

For trade in services, market access conditions will be further relaxed in 13 existing sectors, which will bring the total number of liberalized service sectors under the CEPA from 44 to 47, involving a total of 301 liberalization measures.

For trade and investment facilitation, the two sides agreed to further boost cooperation in commodity inspection and quarantine, food safety, quality and standardization.