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Economic Watch: China goes all out to lift opening-up to a new level
BEIJING, June 27, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – China has taken solid steps in
promoting its opening-up by lowering import tariffs and easing market access,
while new measures on intellectual property protection and a new negative
list for market access of foreign investment are in the pipeline.
From July 1, China will cut import tariffs on vehicles and auto parts. For
cars, the 25-percent tariff levied on 135 items and the 20-percent duty on
four items will both be cut to 15 percent. The items cover passenger cars and
certain trucks. Import tariffs on 79 auto parts will all be reduced to 6
percent from the current levels of 8-25 percent, the Ministry of Finance has
announced.
The move came after China’s exemption of import tariffs on all common drugs
including cancer drugs, cancer alkaloid-based drugs, and imported traditional
Chinese medicine starting from May 1 this year.
These are only part of a slew of substantial measures China recently
announced, as the country promised to significantly broaden market access.
In 2017, China reduced import tariffs on 187 types of consumer goods,
including coffee makers, smart toilet seat covers, electric toothbrushes,
mineral water and oral cleaning kits. In 2016 and 2015, the country slashed
import tariffs on 787 and 749 types of goods, respectively.
China “will actively expand imports, host the first China International
Import Expo, and lower import tariffs on automobiles, some everyday consumer
goods, and so on. We will open our market wider to promote industry upgrading
and more balanced development of trade to provide Chinese consumers with a
broader range of choices,” said Premier Li Keqiang in the government work
report delivered in March.
A timetable for China to further open its financial sector was also
disclosed by Chinese leaders during the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference
in Hainan Province in April. A number of landmark measures are to be launched
this year, according to statements made at the Forum.
On services, financial services in particular, an important announcement
was made at the end of last year on measures to raise foreign equity caps in
the banking, securities and insurance industries.
China will ensure that these measures are materialized and at the same time
make more moves toward further opening up, including accelerating the
opening-up of the insurance industry, easing restrictions on the
establishment of foreign financial institutions in China and expanding their
business scope, and opening up more areas of cooperation between Chinese and
foreign financial markets.
Wang Zhigang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences,
believed that “easing restrictions on the establishment of foreign financial
institutions in China and expanding their business scope” could bring about a
“catfish effect,” which will push forward the reform and innovation of the
financial sector.
Furthering the open-up of the country’s financial sector will accelerate
the reshuffling of the industry, help optimize the structure and improve the
efficiency, turn high savings into effective investment and promote the
quality of financial services, according to Wang.
During the opening-up process, China needs to strike a balance between
innovations and risks and strengthen supervision, Wang warned, noting that
domestic financial institutions should speed up internal reform to improve
their abilities to defuse risks.
China has also pledged to enhance intellectual property protection, a
voluntary step taken in accordance with its commitment to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and aimed at improving the market economy, said Yang
Changyong, a senior researcher from the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic
Research.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1340