China unveils measures to boost services exports

BEIJING -- Chinese authorities have unveiled a package of measures aimed at boosting services exports and promoting the high-quality development of trade in services.

A notice made public on the website of the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday has outlined 13 measures to serve those purposes. It said the measures will accelerate the development of services trade, expand high-standard opening-up, and nurture new momentum for the growth of foreign trade.

The measures include those on making full use of the available funding channels of the central and local governments to support new forms and models of services exports, such as digital services, high-end design, R&D, supply chains, and green services spanning energy conservation, resource recycling, environment management and consultation, according to the notice.

It said that a special-purpose guiding fund supporting the innovative growth of trade in services will be leveraged to mobilize further services trade investment from the private sector.

Efforts will be made to improve efficiency for enterprises when they apply for services export tax rebates, leveraging relevant electronic information platforms.

Export credit insurance support for services exports will be increased, and the government will optimize its visa policies for the personnel of foreign-invested enterprises, people engaged in sci-tech research, and high-level talent coming to China, it said.

It noted that efforts will be made to expand the number of countries to which China's unilateral visa-free travel policy applies, aiming to optimize visa policies for foreigners arriving in China.

The measures also include efforts to facilitate cross-border payment settlement for trade in services by encouraging banks to improve the efficiency of settlement work for creditworthy and rules-compliant companies engaged in relevant operations.