BEIJING — China on March 23 announced an extension of the tax-relief policies launched last year in response to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The extension aims to further support the prevention and control of the epidemic, while helping companies tide over difficulties and pursue growth, according to a circular jointly released by the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration.

Policies that support individual business owners and the movie industry, as well as those that involve personal income, will be extended until the end of 2021. The policy that is related to donation tax will be extended until the end of March.

Following the novel coronavirus outbreak in 2020, China swiftly launched a series of preferential tax policies to counter the stresses of COVID-19. China emerged as the only major economy in the world that registered positive growth last year.