China to improve government information sharing -- China will further improve the sharing and disclosure of government information to provide more efficient services to the public, the State Council said on Dec. 6. The government will work to put public data and government information into a national data sharing and exchange platform that will be open to the public in accordance with laws and rules. Efforts will be made to ensure information sharing between government departments to improve work efficiency, with the State Council opening 40 information systems to governments at all levels to share data and information of 500 items by the end of the year.
China moves to secure natural gas supply amid rising winter demand -- China's top economic planner has coordinated major natural gas suppliers to secure supply and stabilize prices to cope with rising demand in northern China. Companies should keep natural gas prices basically stable and ensure adequate supplies, Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily quoted a notice from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
China to enhance supervision of village affairs -- China's central authorities have called for the setting up of supervisory commissions on village affairs, according to a guideline released on Dec. 4. The village affairs supervision committees will help to "overcome unhealthy tendencies, curb corruption, promote harmony and stability and improve governance in villages," according to the guideline issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council. The commissions will be made up of three to five people to specialize in management or accounting. They will be voted in at the village meeting or villagers' assembly.
China to allow more private capital in military industry -- China will allow more private capital in the shares of military enterprises to deepen military-civilian integration, according to a guideline issued by the State Council. The guideline proposes that China should enhance the sharing of military and civilian resources, and step up the integration of major military experiment facilities. It also put forward measures to push arms equipment mobilization and construction of nuclear emergency response security.
China revises regulation on value added tax -- China published revisions to the regulation on value added tax (VAT) on Dec. 1. Sales services, intangible assets and real estate were covered with tax rates ranging from 6 percent to 17 percent, and rates for sales and imports of grain, books and fodder were trimmed to 11 percent from 13 percent. The revisions took effect on Dec. 1.
China to improve green manufacturing standards system -- China will step up formulating a system of standards on green manufacturing and promote the upgrading of traditional manufacturing, an official said on Dec. 1. Accelerating green industrial transformation is a requirement for building a beautiful China, Gao Yunhu, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the annual conference for green design and manufacturing of Chinese industrial products.
China to expand rural land ownership reform -- China will expand its rural land ownership reform to more counties in the next year in its latest effort to bolster agriculture and the rural economy. A total of 300 counties will be covered in the pilot program, up from current 129, Vice Agricultural Minister Ye Zhenqin said on Dec. 1 at a meeting in Tianchang in central China's Anhui Province, a major grain-producing region. Ye said local governments can also promote the program to more places based on their own conditions. "The reform should be basically completed by the end of 2021," he said.
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