BEIJING — China's annual amount of tax and fee cuts in 2019 is expected to total 2.36 trillion yuan (about $340.73 billion), according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The business environment for enterprises was significantly improved in 2019, with benefits of tax and fee cuts apparent in manufacturing and medium- and small-sized firms, an MIIT official said on Jan 13 at the China Industrial Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2019 held in Beijing.

Tax cuts in the manufacturing sector and related industries accounted for nearly 70 percent of the annual amount of value-added tax reduction, said the official, while inclusive tax reduction for small and micro enterprises stood at about 250 billion yuan.

"Firms in the private sector and small and medium-sized enterprises saw growing vitality," said the official.

Last year, accounts of firms in the private sector and small and medium-sized enterprises saw over 600 billion yuan of their overdue payments settled, meeting the goal set by the 2019 Report on the Work of the Government, according to the MIIT.

"Over 50 percent of overdue payments to enterprises must be made by the end of the year, and new arrears are impermissible," said the government work report.