China Press Digest: Tuesday, October 24

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following are highlights from the China press for

Tuesday, October 24:

     Chinese government moves to cut business feeds and establish a new

value-added tax system will ease the business tax burden by at least CNY1

trillion this year, the South China Morning Post reported late Monday, citing

Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie. Xiao told the newspaper that as of the end of

August the new VAT system had cut business taxes by about CNY1.6 trillion since

its launch in 2013. Xiao said China's fiscal deficit would fall to the targeted

CNY2.38 trillion this year and the fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio would fall below

3% due to "stronger-than-expected economic growth," according to the Post.

Regional debt ceilings will be created to manage debt risks incurred by local

governments, Xiao said, stressing that debt issued by local government financing

vehicles (LGFV) is not government debt but rather corporate debt. He also said a

property tax system could be launched in China but "ample research and study"

was still needed. Deputy Finance Minister Hu Jinglin said more tax pilot

programs would be created in designated industrial parks, the newspaper

reported. (South China Morning Post)

     Consumption's role in Chinese economy has increased to become one of the

main drivers of growth, the Financial News, a newspaper operated by the People's

Bank of China, reported on its front page Tuesday. Ministry of Commerce

spokesman Gao Feng told the newspaper the next step for China would be working

to transform and upgrade consumption: enhance supplies of high-quality goods and

expand sales channels; enhance the integration of the internet with the service

sector; improve the use of "consumption information"; and improve the

consumption environment by creating a system to gauge commerce business'

creditworthiness and punish violators. (Financial News)

     Yang Weiming, deputy head of government's Central Finance Leading Group

Office stressed Monday that Chinese green finance has great potential and China

still has significant growth room for its development, the Financial News, a

newspaper operated by the People's Bank of China, reported. Given Chinese

President Xi Jinping proposed to develop green finance in his keynote speech at

the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress, Yang said the People's Bank of

China is coordinating with related government bodies and the group has already

issued some guidance and "policies and measures are being implemented."

(Financial News)

     China will not pursue the "free trade champion" title, nor will it make

promises beyond its ability, but will continue its "opening up" strategy and

make further progress in expanding access to its market, an unidentified

researcher at the Ministry of Commerce said in an article published in the

official People's Daily on Tuesday. The article listed examples of western

countries' increased restrictions on mergers and acquisitions by foreign

companies, commenting that the measures are "protectionism." The researcher also

said the West and the East are pursuing different policies in terms of trade and

the economy, and so investors and technology talents should come to China to

"give it a try." (People's Daily)

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: iris.ouyang@marketnews.com

--MNI BEIJING Bureau; +1 202-371-2121; email: john.carter@mni-news.com

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