Forum held in London to discuss Belt and Road, green finance

A forum was held in London on Monday with focus on the Belt and Road Initiative and green finance, with more than 50 participants from political, industrial and financial fields in both China and Britain.Chen Yuan, former vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Silk Road Research Centre, said in the opening speech that the synergy between green development and the B&R Initiative has received extensive attention."We must also integrate the concept of sustainable development of green, low-carbon and recycling into the whole process of construction and various projects in the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative," Chen said, stressing that the B&R Initiative and green development are mutually coordinated and mutually beneficial.Chen hoped that China and Britain should work together to contribute to the green development of the B&R Initiative, the Sino-British friendship and the Community of shared future for mankind.China's Ambassador to UK Liu Xiaoming said that China and Britain have major advantages in carrying out green financial cooperation under the framework of B&R Initiative."The UK is a 'natural partner' of China in advancing the BRI. I hope that the UK will engage in BRI more vigorously and substantially and join us in deepening and broadening China-UK cooperation on the BRI," Liu said, adding that he hopes that this forum will bring out more insights on how to tap our potential in green finance under the framework of the B&R Initiative, so as to elevate and expand cooperation on green finance.Lord James Sassoon, chairman of the China Britain Business Council said in his speech that the idea of building a "Green Silk Road" can be achieved not only with the establishment and improvement of green standards, but also close cooperation between different countries.British Teasury's Belt and Road Envoy Douglas Flint suggested that the B&R Initiative construction could be combined with the UN's sustainable development goals and strive to achieve maximum benefits.Co-hosted by Climate Bonds Initiative and Reignwood Cultural Foundation, this forum is the first forum in the UK to bring together the two hot topics of the B&R Initiative and "Green Finance" for discussion.Source: China Daily

China's transport investment remains stable in Jan-Oct

China's fixed-asset investment (FAI) in transport posted steady growth in the first 10 months of this year, the country's transport ministry said. FAI increased 0.7 percent year-on-year to reach 2.6 trillion yuan ($375 billion) in transport in the period, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said in a statement. Investment in the country's roads reached 1.76 trillion yuan in the first 10 months. MOT data shows that FAI in expressways and rural roads expanded 11.6 percent and 1.5 percent year-on-year in the period, respectively. By 2020, China aims to have a modern transportation system that is safe, convenient, efficient and green. The country plans to spend around 2.6 trillion yuan on transport infrastructure in 2018, with goals to further expand railway and road networks, especially in poverty-stricken areas.Source: China Daily

The "Global City Ranking 2018" by GaWC

As one of the world's most prestigious city rating agencies, GaWC has published the "Global City Ranking" from 2000. GaWC will determine the status of a city in the world's urban network by examining the inter-city financial, professional, and innovative knowledge flows. GaWC divides the city into Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Sufficiency (+/-) with its unique perspective, to show the city's position and integration in the global economy. This list is considered to be the most authoritative ranking of the world's cities in the world.GaWC divides the world cities into four major grades - Alpha (first-tier cities), Beta (second-tier cities), Gamma (third-tier cities), and Sufficiency (a self-sufficient city, also known as a four-tier city).GaWC ranks the world cities by using the distribution of the "Six High-level Producer Service Organizations” in major cities around the world. It mainly includes: banking, insurance, law, consulting management, advertising and accounting, focusing on the city's leading role and driving ability in global activities. GaWC's assessment of world cities does not include direct GDP and manufacturing output. In other words, the more international organizations in these industries are distributed in cities, the higher the scores of cities, and the more they are considered to be influential world cities by GaWC.From the "Global City Ranking" released in 2018, for the Chinese cities, Hong Kong is one of the Top Three Cities, and Beijing has entered the "Top Four" for the first time. Taipei and Guangzhou are at the Alpha level. It is worth mentioning that Shenzhen has successfully entered the Alpha-level and entered the ranks of the world's first-tier cities for the first time. At the Beta level, there are 13 cities in China, including Chengdu and Hangzhou at Beta+, Tianjin, Nanjing and Wuhan at Beta level, Chongqing, Suzhou, Dalian, Xiamen, Changsha, Shenyang, Qingdao and Jinan at Beta-level.

The five points that you need know before company registration in Shanghai FTZ

Since the establishment of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, it has attracted more and more entrepreneurs to choose to register in the Free Trade Zone. Because many investors are the first time to register a company, there is very little understanding of the relevant requirements for registering a company in the Free Trade Zone. Tanikawa has compiled 5 points that you should know before signing up for the Shanghai Free Trade Zone company registration!1. How many employees do you need to register for a free trade zone?A company needs at least four positions to be established, namely shareholders, legal representatives, company supervisors and company accounting.2. How to determine the company's business scope?The business scope of the company is selected according to the business type of the company. The statement of the business scope of the Shanghai registered company is regulated. You can refer to the business scope of the same industry with your company. If the business scope does not include the specific business of your company, it is easy to be determined by the relevant departments to operate beyond the scope.3. How to determine the company's registered capital?Most of the company's registered capital is the subscription system, which needs to be determined according to the specific industry category that the company is engaged in. It is not the more the registered capital, the better.4. How many times does the shareholder need to register with the free trade zone?According to the specific situation, in general, shareholders must be present at least once. The specific time is at the time of the industry and commerce interview. Generally, the legal person must be present at least twice.5. What should you pay attention to after the company registration is completed?After the company registration is completed, in addition to the normal legal operation, it is necessary to carry out monthly normal tax declaration and annual annual report publicity. In addition, you must also pay attention to the expiration time of relevant documents, and must apply for extension in time.

Premier Li attended“Singapore Lecture”

On the morning of November 13, Premier Li Keqiang delivered a keynote speech at the“Singapore Lecture” and answered questions on the spot. This is one of the highest-level academic seminars in Singapore. The audience is more than 500 Singaporean political, business and academic celebrities.“China is Singapore's  largest trading partner and Singapore is China's largest source of new foreign investment. China welcomes Singapore's more enterprises to invest China.” Premier Li Keqiang said here and repeated it in English: “more and more Investment." Li Keqiang said that China will continue to expand its opening up, not only in the service industry, which is advantageous in Singapore, but also in the basic industry. At present, large European and American companies have established large-scale petrochemical enterprises in China, and hope that Singapore and other ASEAN countries will seize this great business opportunities.Li Keqiang pointed out that China will promote reform and opening up with greater efforts, more practical measures, and faster pace, promote high-quality development, maintain the continuity of macroeconomic policies, continue to simplify administration and reduce taxes and fee, and create an equal and fair business environment for domestic and foreign-funded enterprises. Enterprises from all countries, including Singapore, are welcome to expand investment in China, strengthen economic and trade cooperation, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win.

Country's tax climate to improve with more reductions expected

China's efforts to further reduce taxes, for businesses and individuals, will continually improve the country's tax environment if the significant progress made since 2017 is any indication, according to a World Bank Group report published.China's tax climate has improved remarkably, particularly regarding the time needed to comply and the number of tax payments required, mainly because of technology-based enhancement of tax collection services, according to the report entitled "Paying Taxes 2019".Experts expect more tax-and fee-reduction policies to come out soon, such as the reduction of social security fees for firms.These could continually enhance China's position in global tax environment rankings, based on World Bank research methodology.China's overall tax environment assessment global ranking improved to 114 in 2017 from 130 in 2016, with 190 economies covered in the report."The Chinese tax authority could reduce social security fees", which will significantly reduce the country's total tax and contribution rate, said Matthew Mui, a tax specialist at accounting firm PwC China, on Tuesday. PwC is one of the contributors to the World Bank report, involved in data collection.The report showed that social security fees paid by Chinese employers comprised the largest contributor to the total tax rate－a measure of the corporate tax burden as a share of commercial profit.This rate for China was 64.9 percent in 2017 in the World Bank's calculations, down from 67.3 percent in 2016 and 68.2 percent in 2015.But it was still higher than the average global level of 40.4 percent.Xu Zhong, director of China's central bank research bureau, said at a forum on Tuesday that there is room for cutting China's social security fees for firms.Xu said the country should also cut personal income tax rates and raise the collection threshold, both being part of its pro-active fiscal policy.The State Administration of Taxation confirmed that it is studying a proposal to cut social security fees to ensure an "actual" decrease of enterprises' burdens. Starting from 2019, tax authorities will take over the collection of social security contributions and gradually incorporate the collection of nontax fees."We expect that the next step will be upgrading legislation for the stamp duty, urban maintenance and construction tax," said Mui.Joanna Nasr, private sector development specialist at the World Bank's Global Indicators Group, said China's tax reforms since 2017 have made tax payments easier, especially by reducing labor taxes and mandatory contributions, and the merging or elimination of tax categories. China moved up the rankings, mainly due to expanded use of electronic tax systems, she added.In 2017, the time taken to prepare, file and pay the three major taxes (value-added tax, corporate income tax and labor tax) in China dropped to 142 hours, down 31.4 percent compared with 2016. The number of payments has also been reduced to seven from nine, showing the continued enhancement of taxpayer services, according to the World Bank report.Source: China Daily