February 2021 / China

February 27 2021

GAC Releases Detailed Rules for Implementing Measures for Tax Reductions and Exemptions for Imported and Exported Goods

The General Administration of Customs issued an announcement on February 25, 2021 to specify how to implement the Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of the Tax Reductions and Exemptions for Imported and Exported Goods. The announcement will be implemented from March 1, 2021.

The announcement made explanation to the term of "the date of acceptance of an application for the confirmation of tax reduction or exemption" in the fifth article, and clarified that any modification, revocation or postponement of the Notice of Tax Collection or Exemption Confirmation in the sixth and seventh articles shall be handled according to the time limit specified in the fifth article. In the 19th article that specified goods with tax reduction or exemption are returned or exported, the column of "means of regulation" should be filled according to the actual means of trade. The announcement also specified the format of legal papers and customs clearance documents.

February 27 2021

Three Authorities Issue Catalogue of Industries Encouraged to Develop in Hainan Free Trade Port

The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration released on January 29, 2021 the Catalogue of Industries Encouraged to Develop in Hainan Free Trade Port (2020 Edition).

The catalogue has added 143 industries in 14 categories and will be adjusted according to development needs at the free trade port. The 14 categories include manufacturing, construction, software & information technology, financial services, transportation, storage, farming, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, culture, sports and entertainment. Industries related to tropical agriculture and marine development are also added to the catalogue.

February 27 2021

MOC Releases Evaluation Standard for Credit Archives of E-commerce Enterprises

The Ministry of Commerce recently issued an announcement to release the Evaluation Standard for Credit Archives of E-commerce Enterprises, to be implemented from May 1, 2021. The industry standard will guide e-commerce companies to establish and evaluate credit archives based on unified standards and provide technical support for the sharing and application of their credit information.

The standard clarified how e-commerce companies should establish credit archives, and said that credit archives should include five types of information, and cover requirements for the source of credit information, and the collection and verification of credit information.

February 27 2021

SAFE Updates Catalogue of Major Effective Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange updated and released on February 10, 2021 the Catalogue of Major Effective Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration (as of December 31, 2020). The catalogue covers 189 regulations related to foreign exchange administration.

The catalogue classifies regulations into eight categories, including foreign exchange management under current account, RMB exchange rate and foreign exchange market, and foreign exchange technology management. New regulations added to the catalogue are mainly related to foreign exchange business under current account, external financial assets & liabilities and transaction data, international receipt & payment statistics, as well as information system code standard management.

On the same day the SAFE issued a separate circular to revoke and invalidate seven regulatory documents in relation to individual purchase of foreign currencies, foreign exchange verification on import & export business, and banks' trade financing business.

February 27 2021

China expected to remain EU’s top trading partner in 2021: scholar

China, the only major economy to recover in 2020, will likely remain the European Union (EU)'s largest trading partner in 2021, a scholar based in Rome has recently said.

The year of "2020 was a singular year for EU-China relations," Silvia Menegazzi, a sinologist and professor of international relations at Rome's LUISS University, told Xinhua.

China surpassed the United States to become the EU's top trading partner last year, as the bloc's imports from China throughout 2020 grew by 5.6 percent year-on-year to 383.5 billion euros (about $465 billion) and exports grew by 2.2 percent to 202.5 billion euros (about $246 billion), according to the EU's statistical service Eurostat.

The year of 2020 also marked the 45th anniversary of EU-China diplomatic ties, and witnessed the completion of the EU-China investment agreement negotiations, she said.

From the European perspective, the goal of the agreement is to improve market access for European firms in China, Menegazzi said, adding that "from this point, the benefits for the EU are clear."

In the future, how the pandemic-induced economic crisis evolves will play a key role in EU-China trade relations, according to Menegazzi.

She predicted that China "will likely remain the EU's largest partner in 2021 because the other major actor -- the United States -- has suffered severe repercussions because of the pandemic."

According to Eurostat, in 2020, the EU's "trade with the United States recorded a significant drop in both imports (-13.2 percent) and exports (-8.2 percent)."

China Daily

February 27 2021

China unveils guidelines on developing comprehensive transport network

China has unveiled plans to build the country's strength in the transport sector over the next 15 years, setting long-term goals for the industry, with the aim of developing a modern, high-quality and comprehensive national transport network. By 2035, the country's transport network should be convenient, cost-effective, green, intelligent and safe, according to the guidelines jointly released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. The transport network should feature higher domestic and international connectivity, multi-channel access to major cities, and effective coverage of county-level nodes, the guidelines state. China should be at the global forefront in terms of the quality, intelligence and green levels of transport infrastructure, they say. By the middle of the century, a modern, high-quality and comprehensive national transport network will be built in an all-around way, with a world-class transport infrastructure system, according to the guidelines. Amid efforts to optimize the country's comprehensive transport layout, the total scale of the national comprehensive transport network will reach about 700,000 km by 2035, excluding the mileage of overseas sections of international land passages, air and sea routes and postal routes. Among them, there will be about 200,000 km of railways, 460,000 km of highways and 25,000 km of high-grade waterways, with 27 major coastal ports, 36 major inland ports, about 400 civil-transport airports and about 80 postal express-delivery hubs, the guidelines said. China will work to build a national comprehensive transport-hub system that consists of integrated transport-hub clusters, hub cities and hub ports, the guidelines said, stressing faster construction of about 20 international comprehensive transport-hub cities and about 80 national ones. Calling for further integrated development of transportation with other industries, the guidelines also stressed efforts to empower transport infrastructure with new technologies and coordinate the development of intelligent connected vehicles and smart cities.   The State Council - The People's Republic of China
February 27 2021

China port handles over 6,000 China-Europe freight trains

A total of 6,072 China-Europe freight trains have passed through the border port of Erenhot in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region since 2013, according to the local customs.

The trains carried about 4.82 million tonnes of goods worth over 90 billion yuan (about 13.94 billion U.S. dollars), said Erenhot customs, which has been handling China-Europe freight trains since 2013.

In 2020, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a record-high number of 2,379 trains passed through the port, an increase of 53.3 percent year on year.

Initiated in 2011, the China-Europe cargo rail transport service is considered a significant component of the Belt and Road Initiative, boosting trade between China and countries participating in the program. Amid the pandemic, the service remains a reliable transportation channel.

Erenhot Port is the only railway port between China and Mongolia, and there are 44 China-Europe freight train routes passing through the port.

Xinhuanet