China has launched new measures to ensure additional fiscal funds for 2020 will directly benefit businesses and individuals, according to the State Council’s executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.
An effective and secure special transfer payment mechanism has been established to ensure that all new fiscal funds will go straight to the prefecture and county-level governments at the earliest possible time, said the State Council.
The special transfer payment mechanism, designed to channel this year’s increased fiscal funds straight to the prefecture and county-level governments and directly benefit businesses and people, is an important step in supporting primary-level governments in maintaining stability in six key areas and enhancing protections in another six priority areas.
The additional fiscal funds will enhance the foundation for the country’s economic recovery and growth and ensure the full delivery of financial policy measures to support the real economy and help market entities through difficulties.
By early August, among the 2 trillion yuan (US$288.7 billion) of increased fiscal funds, about 300 billion yuan had been used for tax and fee cuts and the remaining 1.7 trillion yuan had been delivered to the prefecture and county-level governments through the special transfer payment framework.
“The special transfer payment mechanism has delivered notable outcomes, showing the decision is right, and the intensity appropriate,” Li said.
Online personal insurance
China’s online personal insurance market posted steady expansion in the first half of the year, with premiums rising 12.2% year on year, according to data from the Insurance Association of China.
Online personal insurance premiums totaled 139.44 billion yuan during the period, with life insurance remaining the top source of income.
In a breakdown, life insurance premiums reached 89.16 billion yuan, or 63.9% of the personal insurance’s total, while annuity insurance premiums soared by 58.6% year on year to 28.32 billion yuan, ranking second in terms of income.
Health insurance premiums jumped by 60.1% year on year to 18.51 billion yuan.
Jiangsu province
East China’s Jiangsu province will boost support for the sales of goods originally produced for export in the domestic market, said a circular released by the provincial government Monday.
According to the circular, Jiangsu will take 12 new measures, including streamlining the certification process for domestic sales of those products and reduce the certification fees, to promote an integrated development of domestic and foreign trade amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The province will encourage foreign trade companies to make products for the domestic market in accordance with international standards, and support such firms to start online sales, the circular said.
Export products will also be introduced in shopping malls, supermarkets, wholesale markets and streets in a bid to help foreign trade companies reduce inventory and recoup funds, according to the circular.
In the first half of this year, Jiangsu saw its foreign trade decrease by 2.8% year on year to 2 trillion yuan.
Company news
Geely Auto, a Hong Kong-listed company, said its net profit fell 43% to 2.32 billion yuan in the first half of this year from the same period last year. Revenue declined 23% to 36.82 billion yuan because of the impact of the novel coronavirus.
In the first six months, Geely sold 530,446 vehicles, down 19% year-on-year. However, its sales ranked first among Chinese brands.
Since hitting the market in 2016, sales for Geely’s Lynk & Co brand have exceeded 300,000. The brand’s 01 plug-in hybrid model has been mooted for launch in Europe in the second half of the year.
Geely has recently launched three new models – the Icon, the Lynk & Co 05 and the Hao Yue, and is expected to launch the Lynk & Co 06, the Geometry C and the Preface in the second half of this year. Geely exported 19,573 vehicles in the first half of this year.
The stories were written by Yang Zhijie and Liu Licong and first published at ATimesCN.com. It was translated by Nadeem Xu.