New energy vehicles market to post slower growth
Jul-31-2017 By : fcccadmin
China’s new-energy vehicle (NEV) market is set to post a slower growth rate of 18.3% this year compared with a 53% expansion last year, consulting firm AlixPartners said. The slowdown is due to a reduction of tax incentives and the government’s subsidy cut on new-energy vehicles. New energy vehicles approved last year need to be reviewed and reevaluated according to the government subsidy policy announced this year. AlixPartners estimated that 600,000 new-energy vehicles will be sold this year, up from 507,000 units last year. The firm sees electric vehicles to take up 83% of total sales in 2017.
Chinese travelers slow to use mobile payments abroad
By : fcccadmin
While Chinese consumers have enthusiastically embraced mobile payments at home, they are reluctant to use them while traveling abroad. Security concerns rank highly when using mobile payments overseas, with more than 37% of respondents to a survey admitting they were “not confident that it is secure or not”. Western brands have been slow to adopt Chinese mobile payments, due in part to their lack of awareness of how big mobile payments are in China. The mobile payments market is dominated by Tencent (WeChat Pay – 40%) and Alibaba (Alipay – 54%), with Apple trying to expand its tiny market share. WeChat Pay is now available in 15 countries and regions for payments in 12 currencies, while Alipay is accepted in 26 countries. Alipay was originally created by Alibaba to support its successful e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall, whereas Tencent’s WeChat is comparable to Whatsapp, with 800 million users.
Premier Li promises to improve climate for FDI
By : fcccadmin
China will strive to make itself more inviting to foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign talent by widening market access and improving the business environment, Premier Li Keqiang said after chairing an executive meeting of the government. The negative-list based market access regime for foreign capital, already being tried out in the country’s 11 free trade zones (FTZs), will be rolled out nationwide as soon as possible, and more sectors will be further opened to FDI. Profits of foreign-invested companies will be guaranteed free flow out of China. To make China more appealing to foreign talent, the government will put in place an improved work permit system for foreigners working in China. Detailed guidelines for visa application and evaluation benchmarks for widened access to foreign talent will be developed in the second half of the year. Five- to 10-year multiple-entry visas will be issued to qualified expatriates. “The inflow of foreign capital has been pivotal for China to maintain a relatively quick growth rate,” Premier Li said. “We must send a strong message of welcome to foreign investment.” Inbound FDI fell by 0.1% year-on-year to CNY441.54 billion in the first half of this year, but the number of newly launched foreign enterprises in China was up by 12.3%, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). In a sign of stabilizing FDI, the inflow rose by 2.3% year-on-year in June to CNY100.45 billion, the China Daily reports.
China rejects responsibility for U.S. trade deficit
By : fcccadmin
China cannot be blamed for the United States’ deficit in bilateral trade as complicated U.S. trade structures are the real reason, Chinese officials said. It is important to highlight that in certain sectors like high-tech products, agriculture and services, China is also bearing a heavy deficit in trade with the U.S., they added. Their comments follow recent remarks by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that imports from China have surged by 200%, creating a deficit of USD309 billion in the country’s foreign trade in the past 15 years. Gao Feng, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said the China-U.S. trade balance has long been a complicated issue and needs to be studied systematically. Many factors led to China’s surplus in trade with the U.S., including differences in economic structures, focus on certain industries with advantages, the international division of labor, the system of trade statistics, and U.S. restrictions on high-tech exports to China, Gao said. “The U.S. side needs to understand that trade in services is also part of the business. For China, the U.S is the biggest source of the service trade deficit and it has been growing fast in recent years,” said Xing Houyuan, Member of the Expert Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). Bilateral trade in services has tripled to USD110 billion in 2016 from around USD37 billion in 2006, but China’s deficit in this segment continues to widen. Between January and May this year, China’s deficit in bilateral trade in services reached USD23 billion, up 17% year-on-year. “China does not aim for a trade surplus”, Liu Chao, Deputy Director General of Legal Affairs at the CCPIT said, as reported by the China Daily.
Public hospitals to become non-profit units
By : fcccadmin
Public hospitals in China will operate under a new system not driven by profits by 2020, according to a guideline by the central government. Public hospitals are the main provider of healthcare in China. These hospitals, which numbered more than 12,700 by the end of last year, provided 2.85 billion outpatient and emergency services last year, accounting for more than 87% of the total, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Private facilities accounted for the rest. The government will increase funding to public hospitals and help them repay loans so they can retain a non-profit status. Health authorities also will establish a new merit evaluation system for Presidents of public hospitals that is not profit-oriented, highlighting the quality of medical services, cost control and satisfactory ratings from patients. The practice of markups for medications, which has been practiced in public hospitals in China for decades, will be abolished in all public hospitals before the end of September, the China Daily reports.
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