RMB 742.8 Billion in Taxes and Fees Exempted or Reduced

A total of RMB 742.8 billion in taxes and fees have been exempted and reduced in the first quarter， which mainly consists of two parts： First， there was a cut amounting to RMB 318.2 billion to support the prevention and control of COVID-19 and bolster economic and social development； second， a further amount of RMB 424.6 billion was cut as a result of the continued implementation of the broader tax and fee reduction policy laid out in 2019.

According to the State Taxation Administration， with a series of macro-control policies in place， Chinas economic and social operation compatible with epidemic prevention and control has gradually recovered， and the order of production and social life is restored at a faster pace. It is expected that the decline of tax revenue in the second quarter will be significantly smaller than that in the first quarter.

In addition， as enterprises gradually resume production， the current sales revenue is close to that of last year. Manufacturing， high-tech industries， transportation， and logistics are all recovering well， and the potential for consumer spending is manifesting at an accelerated pace.

Building of FTZs Accelerated to Strengthen Investors Confidence

In the past three years since the opening of the seven pilot free trade zones （FTZs） in Liaoning， Zhejiang， Henan， and some other areas， an overall of 1，055 pilot tasks have been implemented， which have resulted in 137 systematic innovations across China.

The seven pilot FTZs， each with their own complimentary merits， have been integrated into and served Chinas major developmental strategies. To be specific， based on their own geographical and cultural characteristics， the seven FTZs have promoted inter-connectivity， made efforts to open gateway cities in Chinas west， and cooperated with other countries in northeast Asia. All this is a strong promoter of Chinas developmental plans such as the Belt and Road Initiative， and the western development strategy， among others.

At present， China is trying its best to resume work and production， redoubling its efforts to help with the operation of the global supply chain， and helping maintain the stability of the global economy. Besides this， it will do more to improve the business environment and implement policies to stabilize foreign trade and investment， thus enhancing the confidence of global investors.

Supporting the Expansion of IP Financing

Recently， the Ministry of Finance and the National Intellectual Property Administration jointly issued a plan to build and deploy an intellectual property rights （IPR） management system in several selected cities across the country within three years， and to support key cities in broadening the financing channels for innovative entities， expanding the scale of IPR pledge financing， and promoting the securitization of intellectual property assets so as to effectively reduce financing costs for enterprises.

According to the plan， China will broaden financing channels for innovative entities and support them in improving their ability to utilize IP assets. It will increase support for innovation among small and mediumsized enterprises and start-ups， especially those impacted greatly by the COVID-19 outbreak. Besides， it will also encourage state-owned enterprises to share mature patented technologies with small and medium-sized businesses through free or lowcost licensing， so as to support the latters transformation.

According to the plan， each chosen city will be granted an amount of RMB 150 million from the central government.

Efforts in Five Areas to Achieve Poverty Alleviation Targets

The year 2020 is the final year of Chinas decisive battle against poverty. In order to lower the impact of the COVID-19 on poverty reduction and to ensure that all the targets will be met as scheduled， the Chinese government will focus on the following five areas.

First， in terms of employment， China will organize the labor force from poverty stricken areas to return to their jobs or help them find jobs near their homes. Second， it will alleviate poverty through promoting consumption. Third， for the poor families affected by the epidemic who have difficulty in repaying their debts， the small-sum loans for poverty alleviation will be extended to the end of the year， and applications for new loans will be processed at a faster pace. Fourth， for povertyalleviation projects， China will accelerate the allocation of special funds from the central government and clarify the responsibilities. Fifth， the registered poor people who have been adversely affected by the epidemic are to be covered by subsistence allowance， special provision， and temporary assistance in a timely manner.