Hainan to take on bigger roles in reform, opening-up

China's southernmost province is going to take on bigger roles in pushing the country's reform and opening-up as a rosy blueprint has been rolled out for the tropical island.Efforts will be made to turn Hainan Province into a pilot zone for deepening reform and opening-up on all fronts, a pilot national ecological zone, an international tourism and consumption center, and a major national strategic logistics zone.These grand goals were outlined Friday at a gathering celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hainan Province and the Hainan Special Economic Zone.Striving to become a new model for deepening reform and opening-up on all fronts and achieve a higher level in this regard is the best way to celebrate the province's 30th anniversary as well as one major move to mark the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the gathering.China will develop Hainan into a vivid example of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era and make the island province an example for the nation, added Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.TOWARD A FREE TRADE PORTAs China's largest special economic zone, Hainan is going to integrate further with the global economy.Xi announced a decision by the CPC Central Committee to support developing of Hainan into a pilot free trade zone and support Hainan to gradually and steadily push ahead with the building of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics.A free trade port is the world's most open form of economic zone, which has brought prosperity to places like Singapore and Hong Kong thanks to its broad-based preferential policies on trade and investment.Hainan should focus on tourism, modern services, and high-tech sectors instead of intermediary trade and manufacturing, while efforts will be made to pilot more flexible policies and regulation mechanism to improve business environment, Xi pointed out.Xi also encouraged Hainan to conduct multi-level and multi-field cooperation with countries and regions along the Belt and Road and facilitate exchanges in culture, education, agriculture, and tourism.China welcomes investors worldwide to invest and start businesses in Hainan and participate in the building of a free trade port, thus sharing the country's development opportunities and outcomes of its reform, Xi said.A PIONEER IN HIGH-QUALITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTHainan should resolutely implement the new development concept to build a modernized economy and come to the forefront of promoting high-quality economic development, Xi pointed out.The Chinese economy has transitioned from a phase of rapid growth into a stage of high-quality development, according to the 19th CPC National Congress.The island should develop new-generation information technology and the digital economy and integrate the latest technologies like big data,Internet and artificial intelligence with the real economy, Xi said.Modern services including medical care and finance should be a major pillar of Hainan's economy, especially tourism, as being an international tourism destination is drawcard of Hainan.To develop the island into an international tourism and consumption center, China plans to make the offshore duty-free shopping policy in Hainan to cover all outbound tourists. Currently Hainan has two duty-free shops, with one in the provincial capital of Haikou and the other in the resort city of Sanya on the southern tip of the island.Hainan also should make full use of its unique resources to develop tropical agriculture and the maritime economy, Xi added.AN ECOLOGY & TALENT-FRIENDLY ISLANDXi stressed that all the above developments should be green to make the tropical island a garden for the country throughout the year.The CPC Central Committee has decided to support the province to build a national ecological development pilot zone, with the strictest ecological and environmental protection mechanism and a modern regulation mechanism.It will take global talent to see these ambitions come true and the province is encouraged to attract high-quality education resources and international professionals.Technical personnel and those with professional skills from foreign countries as well as those from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, will be allowed to work and apply for permanent residence permits in Hainan.Meanwhile, overseas students with master's degrees or above from Chinese universities will be allowed to work or start businesses in Hainan, Xi said.Xi also called for support for the province to establish management systems for recruitment of high-tech personnel from overseas and develop a more open mechanism in this regard.Xi urged local officials to take a long-term vision and devote themselves to achieving these goals."All great achievements are made with continuous effort and all great causes are moved forward as we carry on from the the predecessors," Xi said.

China cuts tax rates for chipmakers

China announced plans to introduce tax exemptions and reductions for chip producers. Businesses established after Jan 1 to manufacture integrated circuits with lines thinner than 130 nanometers will be exempted from the income tax for the first two years, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance. The tax rates will be 12.5 percent from the third year, half of the statutory level. The exemption period will be five years if the IC lines are thinner than 65 nm or the investment totaled more than 15 billion yuan ($2.39 billion). Businesses established before 2018 producing 0.25- and 0.8-micron chips can also enjoy similar favorable policies after they make profits, according to the statement. The tax breaks came as the country's latest effort to stimulate the manufacturing of high-performance ICs, which has been dubbed an emerging sector of strategic importance. A robust IC sector will facilitate technological and industrial revolutions and help foster new economic growth engines, analysts said. The sector maintained a 20-percent annual growth rate during the past five years. Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, has said China will provide more opportunities for foreign companies to invest in IC and other manufacturing sectors.

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.

Xiongan project's funding plan may be national model

An innovative fundraising model for construction projects in China's Xiongan New Area and the creative property policies being discussed for the area could become national benchmarks as the country explores a long-term mechanism to stabilize the property market, according to a senior executive of one of China's largest construction contractors.The new model－integrating investment, construction, operation and fund management－was jointly launched last year by China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd (CSCEC) and China Xiongan Construction and Investment Group Co Ltd to build the Citizen Service Center in North China's Hebei province."That model is unprecedented in China, based on an idea of the sharing economy that could effectively ally investors with various resource advantages and jointly manage projects during the whole lifecycle," said Zhou Yong, vice-chairman of China Overseas Holdings Ltd, the listed subsidiary of CSCEC.On Nov 22, 2017, the CSCEC won the bidding for the 100,000-square-meter Citizen Service Center construction project－the so-called first bid of Xiongan New Area.The project, located in Rongcheng county, is a building complex composed of multiple government service centers, training centers and office buildings, and it will be used for exhibition of the New Area's planning, government services and conferences. The whole project can provide offices for 3,000 people and accommodations for 500 people, according to data provided by the group."The construction is going well so far, and it has entered the final decoration stage. We hope it will be the first high-quality, satisfactory project to set the benchmark for the area's development," said Zhou, who is also a member of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.Zhou, who leads a group that had a total asset value of 579.8 billion yuan as of June 2017, also suggested that the Public-Private Partnership management model being used in Xiongan could help prevent illegal fundraising and increased debt risks."Investment of the Citizen Service Center is following the PPP model ... which we can study for a more efficient and fair coordination between the government and social capital," Zhou said.The entire construction process, including designing and collecting funds, is expected to be complete in only a five-month period. Even during the Spring Festival holiday in February, more than 3,000 workers remained at their posts at the center's construction site."High-quality" and "high-speed" can reflect the key principles of building the New Area, according to the political advisor."Innovation is also encouraged in the area and I believe some of the existing policies could be replaced by new models, targeting a longterm mechanism for healthy development of the property market."Possible measures may include encouraging the rental market and speeding up the renovation of shanty towns, while stabilizing housing prices and preventing bubble bursts, experts said.Some pilot programs could be launched first in Xiongan New Area and then extended to the whole country when the programs have matured, they said.

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.