Foreign investment drive

More measures to better facilitate foreign investment will be introduced, according to a guideline published by the State Council on June 15.

Policies will be adopted to promote high-standard liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and create a fairer, more transparent and attractive investment environment based on international standards, the guideline said.

It will also strive to preserve China’s status as a major destination for foreign investment, it said.

Market access will be widened, and restrictions on the agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors will be either canceled or lessened. The mechanism for eligible overseas investors will be refined, and foreign investors will be introduced to futures trading of crude oil and iron ore, according to the guideline.

The ability of foreign-invested enterprises to use their funds will be further improved, and foreign-invested financial institutions will receive support to take part in underwriting bonds issued by local governments.

The reform to streamline administration, enhance compliance oversight and improve services will be furthered in foreign investment, and approval procedures for foreign expats to come to work in China will be simplified, the guideline said.

Policies for land use and social insurance will be refined to reduce corporate costs for foreign-investment enterprises.

The legitimate interests of foreign investors will be better protected. Counterfeiting will be severely dealt with. The ceiling of compensation for intellectual property infringements will be significantly raised, it added.

More foreign investment will be directed to central and western areas. The financing channels for foreign-invested enterprises in western regions and the old industrial bases in Northeast China will be further expanded. Their logistics cost will also be lowered. Development zones at national levels will be encouraged to serve as an important platform to lead efforts in better absorbing foreign investment, the guideline said.

Easy access to services

China will further simplify procedures for accessing government services with measures to further promote Internet Plus government services, according to a guideline released by the State Council General Office on June 22.

The guideline stipulates that there will be no repeated requirement for materials that can be shared and reused. Electronic licenses will be more widely introduced, and their reciprocal recognition will be further promoted. A uniform platform for data sharing and exchange will be established.

Agencies that fail to connect to government information systems at different levels will lose eligibility for applying for new projects or funding for technical maintenance.

At least 90 percent of the service items offered by provincial-level authorities and 70 percent by city and county-level authorities will be made accessible online by the end of 2019.

More finance for businesses

China will introduce measures to make financing more accessible and affordable for small and micro businesses, the State Council decided at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on June 20.

The country will continue to adopt a prudent and neutral monetary policy and the government will work to keep liquidity sufficient and appropriate, maintain financial stability, strengthen policy coordination to boost market confidence and ensure the economy performs within a reasonable range.

According to a decision at the meeting, the volume of refinancing and rediscounts for small and micro businesses, and for rural areas, agriculture and farmers will be raised. The refinancing interest rates for small and micro businesses will be lowered.

Between Sept 1 this year and the end of 2020, the credit quota for small and micro businesses with loans that are eligible for VAT exemptions on interest revenue will be raised from 1 million to 5 million yuan ($153,000-$768,000).

Meanwhile, the State financing guarantee fund will cover no less than 80 percent of the financing guarantee for small and micro businesses.

Monetary tools will be applied to raise credit support for small and microbusinesses. Targeted cuts in bank reserve requirement ratios and other monetary policy tools will be used to boost credit supply to small and micro businesses.