China announces new measures to bolster real economy

China has decided to roll out a raft of measures to bolster the real economy, with the goal of reducing the tax burden on businesses by more than 45 billion yuan (6.61 billion U.S. dollars) this year.

The new policy support will include tax reductions for factories affected by capacity cuts and money-hungry small and micro companies, according to a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday.

Tax reductions are significant to pursuing a proactive fiscal policy and maintaining a stable economy, said a statement released after the meeting.

The government will offer tax breaks to enterprises facing production suspension due to capacity cuts or industrial restructuring, as well as to investment businesses related to social security funds and basic pension insurance funds.

Small and micro businesses will also be able to enjoy a value-added tax exemption from next month to the end of 2020 on interest income from loans of up to 10 million yuan, up from the previous 5 million yuan.

Foreign institutions will be exempted from corporate income tax and value-added tax for their interest gains from domestic bond market investments for three years, while export rebate rates for certain products will be raised, the statement said.

The meeting also arranged work to improve the national list of essential drugs, adding 187 medicines to the list to expand the total number of drugs to 685 with a focus on those related to cancer, chronic diseases and children.

The national list of essential drugs should be adjusted timely to include newly-approved, effective and reasonably-priced medicines, the statement said.

Officials at the meeting pledged efforts to reduce the burden of medical expenses on patients and ensure the supply of essential drugs.