China's policymakers have rolled out a raft of measures over the past week to shore up the economy and mitigate the impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The following are the latest policies taken during the period:
-- More proactive fiscal measures
The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday called for more proactive fiscal measures such as issuing special government bonds to support the virus fight and increasing the issuance of local government bonds as well as raising the utilization efficiency of capital to help stabilize the economy.
Monetary policies should be more flexible and balanced and instruments such as reserve requirement ratio cuts, interest rate reductions and reloans should be fully leveraged to ensure reasonable and sufficient liquidity and a lower interest rate in the loan market, the meeting said, stressing the need to channel capital into the real economy, especially medium-sized, small and micro enterprises.
In emphasizing the need to expand domestic demand, the meeting said it is necessary to release the potential of consumption by stimulating consumer spending and increasing public spending as appropriate.
The People's Bank of China lowered the rate of 100 billion yuan (about 14.2 billion U.S. dollars) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility to financial institutions to 2.95 percent, compared with 3.15 percent on the previous operation.
-- Expand opening-up
The asset requirement of one billion U.S. dollars for overseas financial institutions to invest in Chinese trust companies will be lifted, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission Tuesday.
The top banking and insurance watchdog has revised rules regulating trust companies and solicited public opinions to expand opening-up in the trust sector.
The country will further promote streamlined administration and delegate powers, optimize licensing procedures and simplify application materials for trust companies, said the commission.
China also pledged to expedite the construction of a free trade port in south China's Hainan Province, as part of efforts to promote comprehensive reform and opening-up of the island, said an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Monday.
-- Stabilize foreign trade, investment
The MOC has inked a memorandum of understanding with the country's biggest commercial lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, to help foreign trade and foreign-invested firms counter the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic.
The bank will step up credit support and offer its one-stop cross-border services integrating clearing, trading and financing functions to help firms stabilize their operation while improving efficiency, according to an online announcement on the MOC's website.
Meanwhile, China's foreign exchange regulator said Tuesday that it will streamline or ease some rules from Tuesday to facilitate cross-border trade and investment.
Under the new rules, eligible companies will be able to use capital they have raised overseas for domestic payments without providing relevant certificates beforehand.
-- More support for small businesses
In a Thursday's joint circular, starting from April 16 to Dec. 31, individual businesses from hard-hit industries that temporarily lost their source of income due to the epidemic, taxi and ride-hailing drivers who took out loans to purchase vehicles and other eligible enterprises can apply for the guaranteed loans for startups.
The threshold for guaranteed loans for startups will be lowered and the maximum loan amount will be expanded, according to the circular.
China has issued 100 billion yuan of guaranteed loans for startups in 2019, official data showed. Enditem
