(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, Feb. 14) Premier Li Keqiang presided over the executive meeting of the State Council on February 14 and decided to implement the trade in service innovative development pilots to promote the foreign trade transform and increase competitiveness of the service industry.

 

It is determined at the meeting that further opening up is an important measure to boost economic development and upgrade. Under the complicated and severe economic situation of the world, we should insist on raising the level of opening up. While promoting the development of trade in goods, accelerating development of the trade in services can promote the foreign trade structure optimization, foster new economic momentum and promote employment. It is determined at the meeting to implement innovative development pilots of trade in services in Tianjin, Shanghai, Hainan, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Suzhou and Weihai and the five state-level development areas in Harbin, Jiangbei, Liangjiang, Guian and Xixian, and mainly exploring the system construction from eight perspectives such as the trade in service management system, development size and facilitation to orderly increase opening up and access of the service industry. To this end, efforts should be made to increase the policy support. First, promoting the preferential taxation policy for service enterprises with advanced technology, and expanding the scope of enterprises eligible for the preferential policy from the service outsourcing to the other service industries with high technology and high added value, levying the corporate income tax at the reduced rate of 15% and allowing deduction of no more than 8% of the total salary for the personnel education fund before taxation. Second, setting up the service in trade innovative development guiding funds, and providing financing support for SMEs in the pilot cities. Interest subsidy will be provided for imported R&D, design, energy-saving and environmental protecting and environmental services that are urgently needed in China in the pilot cities. Third, encouraging financial institutions to innovate in the supply chain financing and other business and comprehensively implementing the service outsourcing bonded supervision to the recognized service enterprises with advanced technology in the pilot cities.

 

Source: Translated from Invest Guangzhou, Feb. 14, 2016