BEIJING — China's State Taxation Administration said on Nov 1 the country's tax and fee cuts totaled 2.09 trillion yuan (about $311.22 billion) in the first three quarters of this year.

Of the total, 1.37 trillion yuan was saved under the preferential tax and fee measures unveiled this year to support economic development and COVID-19 containment.

The number of the country's taxpayers increased 7.5 percent in the January-September period from one year earlier, with Q3 recording a 26-percent year-on-year growth, said Cai Zili, an official with the administration.

Tax departments have helped facilitate Chinese exporters' shift to domestic market with big data technologies, with export companies' incomes from domestic sales expanding 7.7 percent year-on-year in the first nine months, Cai said.

He said China will make more efforts to implement tax and fee relief measures and optimize tax- and fee-related services to vitalize all market entities.