Measures target economic growth

The State Council on Sept. 12 announced a series of measures to stabilize foreign trade growth following lackluster trade figures in recent months， in the government’s latest move to boost economic growth amid the global economic turmoil， China Daily reported.

“First， we will speed up tax rebates for exporters and make sure that they get the rebates accurately and promptly，” the State Council said in a statement released after an executive meeting presided by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The government will also expand the range of export credit insurance and reduce financing costs， while urging commercial banks to enhance trade financing for small and micro-sized companies， and increase credit to qualified exporters， the statement said.

Export-related insurance companies are being told to widen service coverage， and especially to provide services to small and micro-sized exporters. Short-term services to small and medium-sized businesses are also being encouraged to help them tap overseas markets， it said.

Administrative procedures， such as inspections and quarantines， will be simplified and the related costs will be lowered from next year in order to improve efficiency and lower costs during customs clearance.

The government said it will also properly defend exporters against trade frictions， while launching trade remedy investigations to protect domestic industries. Companies are being urged to make full use of regional and sub -regional cooperation mechanisms and effective free trade agreements.

China will also expand imports， particularly those of advanced-technology equipment， key components and consumer goods， to support the technological upgrade process of companies and strengthen balanced trade.

The government will support companies wishing to explore emerging markets， including those in Africa， Latin America and Southeast Asia， to optimize their trade structures， while enlarging the opening-up of central and western regions as well as boosting border trade， in a move aimed at optimizing the country’s regional structures for foreign trade.

Tougher rules on iron and steel industry

China announced a series of new regulations on Sept. 3 to fine-tune its iron and steel industry in a bid to make it more energy efficient and environmentally friendly， Xinhua reported.

The announcement， published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， said the new regulations relate to stricter requirements on quality of products， energy consumption， emissions， technology and equipment standards， production scale as well as security and social responsibility for iron and steel companies.

The new regulations rule that iron and steel companies are forbidden to produce a list of obsolete products， including hot rolled silicon steel and twisted steel of primary level.

Further， powder dust emissions， sulfur dioxide emissions and water consumption for making perton of steel should not exceed 1.19 kg， 1.63 kg and 4.1 cubic meters separately.

For equipment capacity requirements， shaft furnaces should be more than 400 cubic meters， converter or electric furnaces should be above 30 tonnes， while high-alloy steel furnaces should be over 10 tonnes.

As for admittance standards of production scale， a company which produces common steel products should have an annual capacity of no less than one million tonnes in 2010， while a company who produces special steel products should have an annual capacity of 300，000 tonnes or above.

Further， any serious accidents within two years could deprive a company a production qualification， according to the announcement， adding that work safety and employees’ payments should be guaranteed.

The new regulations， which is said to be formulated in line with the developments of the country’s iron and steel industry， will be enforced on October 1， 2012. Meanwhile， the old one， which was formulated in June 2010， will be expired.

Detailed policies needed to stabalize exports

Industry analysts have called for the creation of more detailed policies to ease burdens on foreign trade enterprises after the State Council approved a raft of measures to stabilize trade growth， according to Xinhua.

Zhang Lei， an analyst with Minsheng Securities， said China should issue detailed rules and ensure the implementation of trade-stabilizing policies in a timely manner， including measures concerning tax rebate rates and financing costs.

The State Council on Sept. 12 announced a slew of measures aimed at boosting foreign trade， including speeding up the export tax rebate process for companies， lowering financing costs for small and micro-sized enterprises and increasing credit to qualified exporters.

China will also work to optimize administrative procedures concerning inspection and quarantine， the State Council said.

These measures， largely within market expectations， came as China’s foreign trade has continued to falter amid the global economic downturn.

China’s exports increased 2.7 percent year-on-year to $177.97 billion in August， up from 1 percent recorded in July but still a sharp drop from the 11.3 percent growth seen in June.

Li Huiyong， an analyst with Shenyin Wanguo Securities， noted that most of the recent policies are not related to exchange rates， and he said the key to making them work lies in the specific corresponding rules.

In the January-August period， China’s total foreign trade reached $2.5 trillion， an increase of 6.2 percent from last year but below the 10-percent full-year growth target set by the government for 2012.

Free-pass policy to drive up Golden Week traffic

China’s new policy that exempts passenger cars from road tolls during holidays is expected to spur unprecedented road traffic during the country’s Golden Week holiday， Xinhua reported.

The public， including the country’s 236 million licensed drivers， will be exempt from about 10 billion yuan ($1.58 billion) in highway tolls during China’s longest-ever eightday Golden Week holiday， running from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7 this year.

The policy will greatly benefit people planning to drive themselves to their holiday destinations， but it will also generate massive traffic pressure， said Chen Xiongzhang， a communications researcher with Guangxi Normal University.

In early August， the State Council approved a plan to lift road tolls for passenger cars taking highways during major Chinese holidays.

Passenger cars with seven seats or less and motorcycles will get a free pass on toll roads， bridges and tunnels during Spring Festival， Tomb Sweeping Day， Labor Day and National Day， said the notice issued by the State Council on Aug. 2.

People have long complained that toll gates cause highway traffic jams during national holidays.

Moreover， tolls take up 30 to 40 percent of expenses incurred by those driving themselves to destinations throughout China.

The holiday free-pass policy has met with a warm response among the majority of private car owners.

An online survey conducted by Sina and Tencent， two major Chinese web portals， revealed that nearly 80 percent of respondents have planned to drive themselves to their destinations during the upcoming holidays.

Some netizens have posted a “money-saving travel map”， showing exactly how much toll money will be saved where the policy is in effect.

Meanwhile， the policy doesn’t just benefit the private owners of the country’s 43.22 million private automobiles， as it has also encouraged more people to rent cars for their holiday journeys， according to some major car rental companies.

Figures

$785.17b

China’s outstanding external debt increased by 34 billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter to reach $785.17 billion by the end of June this year， the country’s foreign exchange regulator said on Sept. 17.

$10b

Enterprises from China and central and eastern Europe have signed many cooperation deals taking advantage of a specific credit of $10 billion offered by China， a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sept. 7.

2%

Inflation slightly rebounded in China in August due to higher food prices， making it harder for authorities to balance inflation control and monetary easing in a slowing economy.

25

China’s top economic planning agency has approved 25 urban rail projects that could be worth more than 800 billion yuan ($126.98 billion).

9.3%

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2011 has been revised upward by 0.1 percentage point to 9.3 percent from previous year， the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sept. 5.

3rd

The average new home price in 100 surveyed cities rose for the third straight month to 8，738 yuan ($1378) in August， an increase of 0.24 percent from July， the China Index Academy (CIA) said on Sept. 3.

49.2%

China’s manufacturing activity slid further in August， with the purchasing managers index (PMI) standing at 49.2 percent， the lowest pace in nine months.

Figures

$22m

China’s Ministry of Finance on Sept. 14 allocated 140 million yuan ($22 million) in relief funds to southwestern Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality for rain-triggered flooding.

4.2%

China’s fiscal revenues grew 4.2 percent year-on-year to 786.3 billion yuan($124 billion) in August， the Ministry of Finance said on Sept. 11.

750m

China’s central government has allocated 750 million yuan ($118.3 million) for quake relief and reconstruction efforts in southwestern province of Yunnan， according to an announcement from the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Sept. 11.

25%

Soybean imports by China fell by 25 percent in August to the lowest level in six months after a drought in the US sparked a record rally in Chicago， increasing costs for the world’s biggest buyer and user.

8%

More than half of China’s leading economists think the country’s GDP growth may still reach 8 percent this year， fueled by the government’s recent efforts to boost the economy， a survey by a major website showed on Sept. 10.

4.3%

China’s urban unemployment rate were kept under 4.3 percent in past nine years， said the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Sept. 10.

$581m

Multiple quakes that jolted southwest China have caused direct economic losses of 3.69 billion yuan ($581 million) in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces， the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Sept. 7.