Li Keqiang presides over the State Council executive meeting to determine further measures to stabilize foreign trade, expand opening up to help stabilize growth and employment, etc

Li Keqiang presides over the State Council executive meeting

Determine further measures to stabilize foreign trade, expand opening up to help stabilize growth and employment

Request to effectively reduce social security rates and fully promote the transfer of some state-owned capital to enrich social security funds

Deploying central budget execution and other financial revenue and expenditure audits to identify and rectify problems

On July 10th, Premier Li Keqiang presided over a State Council executive meeting to determine further measures to stabilize foreign trade, in order to expand opening up and help stabilize growth and employment; Request to effectively reduce social security rates and decide to fully promote the transfer of some state-owned capital to enrich social security funds; Deploy central budget execution and other financial revenue and expenditure audits to identify and rectify problems.

The meeting pointed out that in accordance with the deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on the "six stabilizations" work, the key to implementing the requirements of stabilizing foreign trade is to further expand opening up to the outside world, and pay more attention to enhancing the endogenous power of enterprises through market-oriented reforms and the use of economic means. The meeting determined further measures to stabilize foreign trade. One is to improve financial and tax policies. Research will continue to reduce the overall level of import tariffs, improve export tax rebate policies, and accelerate the progress of tax rebates. The second is to strengthen financial support. Better leverage the role of export credit insurance, promote the expansion of coverage, reasonably reduce premiums, and research and propose specialized insurance types that meet the needs of enterprises. Guide financial institutions to increase their support for foreign trade financing for small and medium-sized enterprises. Create conditions to improve the convenience of RMB settlement. Thirdly, we will accelerate the development of new business models such as cross-border e-commerce and bonded maintenance for processing trade, and cultivate import trade demonstration zones. The fourth is to enhance the level of trade facilitation. We have made greater breakthroughs in simplifying import and export regulatory documents, reducing customs clearance time, and lowering port charges. The meeting requires strengthening policy reserves and timely introduction based on changes in the situation and concerns of enterprises, in order to promote stable and high-quality foreign trade.

The meeting pointed out that reducing social security rates is an important measure to alleviate the burden on enterprises and stimulate the vitality of market entities. At present, the overall operation of various social security funds in China is stable, ensuring timely and full payment. The policy of reducing social security rates in the first half of the year has shown results, with a reduction of over 128 billion yuan in basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, and work-related injury insurance contributions for enterprise employees. Next, we need to focus on the requirements of ensuring the reduction of social security rates and the timely and full payment of basic pension funds. We need to deepen our understanding of policy implementation in enterprises, timely study and solve new problems, and ensure that policies are implemented without any discounts. Stable payment methods, on the premise of implementing the basic pension insurance unit payment ratio for employees not exceeding 16%, will not make policy adjustments this year in principle for issues such as inconsistent rates and payment base standards within individual provinces. Each region should take on the main responsibility of distributing basic pension funds and ensure that no household is left behind. We should steadily promote the overall planning at the provincial level.

In order to enhance the sustainability of the social security fund and further consolidate the foundation of the pension social security system, the meeting decided to fully promote the transfer of 10% state-owned equity of central and local state-owned and state-controlled large and medium-sized enterprises and financial institutions to the social security fund and local related undertakings this year, and as financial investors, enjoy the right to income and other rights in accordance with regulations.

The meeting pointed out that the results of the 2018 central budget execution and other fiscal revenue and expenditure audits have been recently announced. We must effectively carry out rectification. Regarding the issues identified during the audit, all regions and departments should take corresponding measures and rectify them in a timely and compliant manner. The rectification results will be reported to the State Council by the end of October and made public after being reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Secondly, we need to strengthen budget transparency and rigid constraints, starting from institutional mechanisms to standardize budget execution, comprehensively strengthen performance management, and resolutely prevent arbitrary spending. We must follow the positive fiscal policy orientation, while adhering to the government's tight schedule, strive to ensure the urgent needs of development and people's livelihood, especially to ensure the implementation of measures such as tax reduction and fee reduction.

The meeting also discussed other matters.

Information source: China Government website

Editor He Yang of this website/Organizing