China-India trade ties set to deepen

The 11th meeting of the China-India Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science and Technology held here recently has brought in new opportunities for deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Trade has grown steadily over the past few years, providing mutual benefits to both countries. Huge potential China and India have a combined population of nearly 2.6 billion, accounting for over 35 percent of the world's population, and contribute about 20 percent of global GDP. In sharp contrast, bilateral trade accounts for only a small proportion of the global total. Areas such as trade, investment, infrastructure, information technology, the Internet, cultural tourism, health care, and many other fields hold great potential for cooperation. More importantly, the economies of both countries are highly complementary to each other. For example, China can provide technology and financial support for India to build and improve upon its infrastructure, while India is strong in IT and pharmaceuticals. China's private investment in India has grown steadily in recent years. With the transfer of some labor-intensive industries, more jobs have been created in India. Boost in trade China-India economic and trade cooperation have witnessed remarkable results. The two countries have supported each other to ensure global trade remains multilateral while pushing for stronger regional economic integration. Together, India and China have made important contributions in the establishment of a new international economic order while safeguarding the interests of developing countries. According to official figures from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, China's trade with India reached a record high of $84.4 billion in 2017, up 20.3 percent from the previous year. China remains India's largest trading partner. Chinese companies have invested more than $8 billion in real investment, and Indian companies have increased their investment in China by an average of 18.5 percent over the past three years. According to Sudheendra Kulkarni, the former chairman of think-tank Observer Research Foundation (Mumbai), economic and trade cooperation between China and India could soon top $100 billion. Chinese smart phone makers have seen success in the Indian market, and it is expected that Chinese Internet companies could have a huge role to play in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious project "Digital India." Promoting trust Observers point out that China and India agree more than they disagree on a number of issues, and that has bolstered trust between the two giants. At present, focus should be on mutual understanding rather than mutual suspicion. At the 11th meeting of China-India Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science and Technology which was held on Monday, both sides agreed to work together on China's Belt and Road Initiative, the "Make in India" movement, and the "Digital India" project. The two sides further decided to address their trade imbalance and expand investment. Recently, a Chinese trade delegation visited India. During the visit, Chinese and Indian companies signed as many as 101 trade agreements with a total contract value of $2.38 billion, covering black tea, castor oil, peppermint oil, coconut fiber, coffee beans and other products. The agreements not only illustrate China's determination to further open up to the world, but also reflect the country's great interest in the Indian market.

First innovation center opens in Xiongan New Area

XIONGAN, Hebei - The first innovation and starts-up center of Xiongan New Area was opened on Sunday in north China's Hebei province. The center is designed to support projects related to new energy, information engineering, new materials, and environmental protection. Eleven companies have signed up with the center, focusing on developing artificial intelligence, internet security, virtual reality, new retailing, and online education. Xiongan New Area, established in April 2017, is a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing. It is the third new area of national significance after the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area. China aims to build it as a low-carbon, intelligent, livable and globally influential city where people and nature exist in harmony.

China eases market access for foreign payment firms

China's central bank laid out the rules for foreign-invested payment firms over market access and supervision, in a bid to open up its payment service market and encourage competition. Overseas companies providing e-payment services are required to set up foreign-invested businesses in China and acquire payment services licenses, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in its online statement. These firms are required to have secure, regulated transaction and recovery systems in China with the capacity of processing payment services individually, according to the PBOC. According to the statement, client data and other financial information originated and collected in China must be stored, processed and analyzed within the domestic area. Foreign-invested payment firms should abide by Central Bank regulations in their corporate governance, operation and risk management, according to the PBOC. China's payment service market has grown rapidly, with transactions processed by domestic payment firms soaring, PBOC data showed. From 2013 to 2017, the value of transactions galloped to 169 trillion yuan (about 26.7 U.S. Dollars) from 18 trillion yuan. Easing the market access for foreign-invested payment parties will help to optimize the industrial structure and speed up reform and opening up of the sector, a PBOC official said.

China's property development investment sees faster growth

China's investment in property development expanded 9.9 percent year on year in the first two months of this year, up from 7 percent for 2017, new data showed Wednesday. Total investment in the first two months stood at 1.08 trillion yuan, the NBS said in a statement on its website. Investment in residential housing registered an increase of 12.3 percent from the same period last year and accounted for 68.1 percent of the total. The country began construction on 177.46 million square meters of housing, up 2.9 percent year on year. Commercial housing sales measured by floor area rose 4.1 percent in the first two months, down from 7.7 percent for 2017. Housing sales value rose 15.3 percent, up from 13.7 percent for 2017. At the end of February, about 585 million square meters of housing was unsold in China, down by 4.55 million square meters or 0.8 percent from the end of last year. This year's government work report reiterated that "houses are for living in, not for speculation." "We will support people in buying homes for personal use, and develop the housing rental market and shared ownership housing," it said.

Innovation-driven economy gets new momentum

China's innovation-driven economy received new momentum, as an additional 12 high-tech industrial development zones have been promoted to national level, Economic Information Daily reported Friday. After the approval of the new national-level high-tech zones in areas such as Jinzhou, Zhanjiang, Huainan and Rongchang by the State Council, the number of high-tech industrial development zones in China has increased to 168. As a pillar and engine of regional innovation development, the research and development input of 156 national high-tech zones, together with 17 independent innovation demonstration zones, accounted for 44.3 percent of total R&D input in the country for 2017. The sales revenue of new products accounted for 31.5 percent of the nation's total, and labor productivity in the zones was over three times the national average last year. National high-tech industrial development zones, focused on replacing old growth drivers with new ones and optimizing industrial structures, have become important incubators for new economies. Diversified high-tech industries in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum communication and new materials are booming, with an increasing number of new economic growth points in the national high-tech industrial zones. About 104 of 131 unicorn companies – startups valued at more than $1 billion – came from national zones as counted in 2016. Beijing's Zhongguancun, boasting 65 unicorn companies, has become the second-largest home for the world's unicorn companies, next to Silicon Valley in the US. The first national high-tech industrial zone was established in Beijing in 1988, and the number is expected to reach 240 by 2020, according to the 13th Five Year Plan (2016-20) for national high-tech industrial development zones.

China to reform national, local taxation systems

 China plans to reform its separate national and local taxation systems by integrating their offices at and below the provincial level, according to a plan submitted to the national legislature on Tuesday. The integrated offices will be responsible for collection of all items of taxes and non-tax revenue collection and administration, according to the plan on institutional restructuring of the State Council, or the cabinet, which was tabled to the first session of the 13th National People's Congress for deliberation. The State Administration of Taxation will be these offices' main regulator, coupled with administration from local governments, the plan said.