BEIJING — The bilateral agreement between China and the European Union (EU) on geographical indications (GI) took effect on March 1, a statement by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said.

GI is a label used for identifying the geographical origin of a product, and is an important type of intellectual property right. According to the agreement, 100 GIs from each side, involving liquor, tea, food and farm produce, came under protection on the same day.

The second GI list, consisting of 175 GIs from each side, is set to go through protection procedures within the next four years.

The China-EU GI agreement was signed on Sept 14, 2020 after 22 rounds of official negotiations since 2011. It is China's first comprehensive, high-level bilateral agreement on GIs, the statement said, adding that the agreement will facilitate exports and imports of related products.

China became the EU's largest trading partner in 2020, with the bilateral trade volume reaching $649.5 billion, MOC data showed.