Economy/Resources - 126. page

According to news.china.com, the Ministry of Taxation recently issued a notice that stated that, starting in September 2018, China will join one hundred countries to collect banking information on non-resident individuals or enterprises and will exchange the information with the tax authorities in the account holders’ country of residence. In return China will gain banking information on Chinese residents who hold bank accounts in foreign countries.  The effort is part of a global standard on the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI). The purpose of the program, which was launched in July 2014, is to reduce the possibility for tax evasion. According to the article, the Ministry of Taxation will come up with its own regulations based on the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Financial Institutions are required to change their work process and to complete a system upgrade to conform to the new requirements. According to the article, starting in 2017, individuals and businesses will be required to fill out their residence of taxation information when they open a new bank account.

Source:  news.China.com, October 17, 2016                                                                                                         http://news.china.com.cn/world/2016-10/17/content_39501405.htm

According to an article in Guangming Daily, the statistics released during the recent World Food Day celebration in Nanjing revealed that the increase in the surface temperature in China is much higher than the global average. In addition, the weather’s hazardous conditions have resulted in a reduction in crop production of 50 trillion kilograms in China each year, 60 percent of which is from drought. The increase in the surface temperature in China is double the average in the world. This has resulted in increases in heat, drought, flooding, tropical storms, and smog pollution. All of these conditions have seriously impacted the production of agriculture in China.

Source: Guangming Daily, October 16, 2016                                                                                                                                   http://politics.gmw.cn/2016-10/16/content_22497162.htm

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, according to data provided by Chinese Customs, in August, Russia replaced Angola to become China’s largest oil supplier. China increased oil imports mainly due to the stocking needs of China’s independent oil refiners. In August, the volume that Russia supplied increased by 50.2 percent, month-over-month. Angola was the largest supplier in July and Saudi Arabia used to hold the top seat. Statistics also showed that, in the first eight months, China’s total import volume from Russia increased by 30 percent, year-over-year. So far, Saudi Arabia is still China’s largest overall oil supplier, However, as of now, China’s imports from Saudi Arabia this year only saw a one percent increase, year-over-year. Currently Saudi Arabia’s supply level to China is 997,520 barrels per day, and Russia’s daily level is 977,330 barrels.

Source: Sina, September 22, 2016
http://finance.sina.com.cn/money/forex/datafx/2016-09-22/doc-ifxwevww1331711.shtml

Xinhua, in a recent press interview, reported that Gao Hucheng, the Minster of Commerce, revealed China’s plan to establish seven more pilot free trade zones. China currently has Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, and Fujian as pilot free trade zones. Gao explained the functions of the new ones in his interview. The Liaoning Zone is to breathe new life into the traditional Northeast industrial region; the Zhejiang Zone will focus on building a free-trade port; the Henan Zone will develop a modern transportation and logistics hub; the Hubei Zone will take on new high-tech industries; the Chongqing Zone will establish a strategic bridge deep into Southwest China; the Sichuan Zone will facilitate joint-development across major open cities in Western China; the Shanxi Zone will mainly promote the “One Belt, One Road” strategy for international connections with the nearby inland countries. The new zones will continue the “Negative List Management” approach to encourage open and free trade unless banned under the negative lists in the zones.

Source: Xinhua, August 31, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2016-08/31/c_1119488723.htm

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Xinhua published an article which reported that, according to the 2016 Chinese Enterprises White Paper, 74.89 percent of Chinese companies are not able to keep up with the payments on their employees’ social security insurance, while 20 percent of the companies are not even participating in the social security insurance program. The article pointed out, “It is a serious violation of employee’s rights.” “The statistics also revealed that the economic slowdown and the pressure to reduce costs have affected many of these companies."

Source: Xinhua, August 28, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-08/28/c_129258654.htm

According to an article that Guangming Daily published, the box office revenue for summer movies has been lower than expected and the quality of the domestic and foreign new movie releases has been poor. According to the article, the total box office revenue for movies for July was 4.5 billion yuan (US$0.67 billion), up 17 percent from June but down 18.2 percent from July of 2015. The article stated that the revenue drop was the first in the past five years. The reported average growth rate had been at 30 percent year after year over the last five years. In addition, the box office revenue for July is an indication of a slowdown in the box office market in China. Based on the current trend, the revenue for the full year is expected to be lower. The article pointed out that, even though the box office revenue grew 21 percent in first six months in 2016 versus 2015, it is far less than the average growth rate over the past five years, which was at 30 percent.

Source: Guangming Daily, August 22, 2016
http://culture.gmw.cn/2016-08/22/content_21571745.htm

In a recent article, Xinhua reported that, as of July, Chinese consumers’ spending overseas had continued to drop for five consecutive months. The statistics for July indicated that Chinese tourists’ spending overseas dropped by 23 percent, an increase over the drop of 18 percent in June. The slowdown of spending drove the 13 percent drop for tourism in the world market. The European market saw a decrease of 20 percent due to concerns about terrorist attacks. Meanwhile Chinese tourists’ spending in Asia continues to grow. Korea has surpassed Japan and become the favorite country for tourists, mainly due to spending on cosmetic and plastic surgery products.

Source: Xinhua, August 22, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fashion/2016-08/22/c_129244240.htm