China relaxes regulations for investors in free trade zones -- The State Council has decided to ease regulations for enterprises investing in free trade zones (FTZs) to promote reform and opening up, a notice said on January 9. China will allow wholly foreign-owned entertainment venues to provide services in FTZs and permit foreign investors to invest in Internet access businesses. The country will remove the restriction that at least 70 percent of equipment in foreign-funded urban-rail traffic projects should be made in China. Wholly foreign-owned companies were allowed to open gas stations and to design, produce and repair aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 6 tonnes.
China adjusts tariff policies for major equipment imports -- Chinese authorities have released tariff policy adjustments for imports of major technological equipment in response to changing industrial development in the country. A notice issued by six government agencies including the Ministry of Finance and the top economic planner revised product catalogues that specify the industries encouraged by the government and those that no longer enjoy tax breaks. Imports of major technological equipment on the revised list for government support will continue to be exempted from tariffs and value-added tax. Tax exemption policies on imports of mixed flow hydro turbines will be abolished, according to the notice. The adjustments take effect on Jan. 1.
China shuts down 128,000 harmful websites in 2017 -- China dealt with 10,300 pornography and illegal publication cases in 2017, the national office for the fight against pornography and illegal publications said on January 8. More than 128,000 websites were shut down for containing obscene and other harmful information. More than 4.55 million posts deleted, while 30.9 million illegal publications were confiscated. The office received 121,000 reports from the public, which helped in a large number of major cases.
China releases new steel capacity replacement policy -- The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced on January 8 a new policy to ensure zero growth of steel capacity in 2018. The new policy forbids plants from increasing capacity. In environmentally sensitive areas of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, steel plants should remove at least 1.25 tonnes of outdated capacity for every 1 tonne of new capacity.
China budgets over 13 bln yuan for major research programs in 2018 -- China has budgeted over 13 billion yuan (2 billion U.S. dollars) for major research and development programs this year, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has revealed. The programs consist of 40 special projects and more than 600 minor projects, covering four major fields including social development, high-tech research, agricultural science and technology, and fundamental research. According to a guideline on budgets soon to be released by MOST, social development will receive the most funds, with 41.7 percent of the total projects and 34.8 percent of the budget.
China releases first marketed medicine list -- China has released its first list of marketed medicine, with 131 types of medicine in 203 specifications, according to the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). The list contains both generic and branded medicines, and specifies reference preparations, which offer research standards for generic medicines, a CFDA official said on January 5. The list also records generic medicines that have equal curative effect with their branded originals, showing which branded medicines can be replaced with generic ones.
China plans several major coal company M&As by 2020 -- China is planning several major coal-group mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by 2020, the country's top economic planner said on January 5. The government will support M&As among coal firms of different scales, regions and ownerships and encourage market players to expand business from coal production to services, according to the guidelines released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and 11 other government agencies. Coal firms are also encouraged to conduct M&As with players in related sectors, including power, coal, chemicals and steel, to fully integrate their resources in the wider industrial chain.
China moves to regulate entrusted loans -- China's top banking regulator on January 6 issued rules to tighten management over entrusted loans, a form of business-to-business lending that involves commercial lenders as intermediaries. Under the new rules, as intermediaries, commercial banks should neither participate in the decision-making of entrusted lending nor provide guarantees of any kind, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC). The entrusting parties should choose qualified borrowers independently, and they should bear the credit risk from entrusted lending. The rules also tightened supervision on funding sources, which ask commercial banks to stay away from entrusted loans that use bank credit, funds with special purposes and other forms of borrowed capital as funding sources, as well as loans with unproven funding sources.
China mulls plan to push smart car development -- China plans to push the development of smart cars and aims to make smart car production account for half of the country's total new vehicles by 2020. The country aims to develop core homegrown technologies, gain global reputation for quality smart cars and become a global leader in smart cars by 2035, according to a draft plan released on January 5 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The country will cover 90 percent of its big cities and highways with a wireless network that can support smart cars by 2020 and ensure product supervision and information security.
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