China
China appoints special envoy to Pacific island countries
China has named a special envoy to Pacific island countries, adding to its diplomatic arsenal in a region where Beijing increasingly vies with the United States for influence.
China’s government had announced plans for the envoy role in mid-2022, when then-Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Pacific island states after a period of limited face-to-face contact because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beijing revealed the appointment of Qian Bo – until recently China’s ambassador to Fiji – in response to a question from Chinese state media during a regular press conference at the foreign ministry last week.
As special government envoy, Qian will “make strong efforts to advance further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Pacific Island countries,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Feb. 15.
During the past two decades, China has become a source of infrastructure, loans and aid for economically-lagging island nations in the Pacific as it seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and gain allies in international organizations such as the United Nations.
Some analysts say Beijing also hopes to establish a military presence in the Pacific in a challenge to American dominance. Last year, the Asian superpower signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, alarming the United States and Australia, which have stepped up their efforts to counter China’s increased sway.
Four of the 14 countries that recognize Taiwan are in the Pacific. The Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched their recognition to China from Taiwan in 2019.
The appointment of a special envoy shows that greater influence in the Pacific remains a goal for China, according to Mihai Sora, a Pacific analyst at Australia’s Lowy Institute and a former Australian diplomat in the region.
Beijing is aiming to better coordinate its diplomatic and strategic moves in the Pacific at a time when Pacific island countries have less appetite for large infrastructure loans and have also increased their security cooperation with Australia and the United States, Sora told BenarNews.
China has special diplomatic envoys for several countries, regions and global issues including Myanmar, the Middle East, Afghanistan and climate change and in the past decade has increasingly sought to mediate in conflicts. It already had an envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum, an organization made up of 16 Pacific island nations as well as Australia and New Zealand.
“We’ll all watch with interest. It seems like overkill. But perhaps it is an indication of their intentions to aggressively increase their influence in the region,” said Matthew Wale, leader of the Solomon Islands opposition.
The Mercator Institute for China Studies has said that China’s higher diplomatic profile and attempts at conflict resolution are linked to the Belt and Road Initiative, a sprawling Chinese plan, begun in 2013, to build a global network of Chinese financed and constructed railways, energy pipelines, highways and other infrastructure.
Through more active diplomacy, China wants to both protect its economic interests and build a reputation as a responsible global power, Mercator said.
The single armed conflict in the Pacific islands region is between Indonesia and Papuan independence fighters, who want the Indonesian-governed western half of the island of New Guinea to be an independent state, and who have grassroots support in some island nations such as Vanuatu.
China would not want to get involved as it would draw further attention to its own colonial policies in Tibet and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Wale said. China also has ambitions for Indonesia to be a key part of its infrastructure plans.
“The special envoy is more to see how best to build and leverage China’s relationships at the regional level,” Wale told BenarNews.
Qian, the Pacific envoy, was China’s ambassador to Fiji from 2018. He was formally replaced in February by Zhou Jian, previously ambassador to Qatar and a deputy-director in the Chinese foreign ministry’s Policy Planning Department.
Qian’s role likely has greater clout within the Chinese government than the envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum and he will be able to deal with more complex and substantial issues, according to Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing.
“It reflects the increased importance that the Chinese government attaches to the affairs of this region,” he said, according to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news organization.
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China
China Provides Tax Incentives on Special Equipment for Green and Digital Development
China has introduced a new tax incentive for companies investing in digital and smart upgrades of special equipment to encourage environmental protection and safe production. Companies can enjoy a 10 percent deduction from their corporate income tax payable. Eligibility and requirements are outlined by the Ministry of Finance and State Tax Administration.
A new China tax incentive aims to encourage companies to invest in digital and smart upgrades of special equipment. Companies upgrading certain equipment that aids environmental protection and safe production can enjoy a deduction of the investment at a rate of 10 percent from their corporate income tax payable. We explain the requirements of the new tax incentive.
China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) and State Tax Administration (STA) have issued a new preferential corporate income tax (CIT) incentive for companies investing in digital and intelligent transformations of certain types of equipment. To be eligible for the incentive, companies must invest in the digital and intelligent transformation of equipment related to energy and water conservation, environmental protection, and safe production.
The new tax incentive aligns with a State Council Action Plan, released in March 2024, which aims to accelerate the renewal of large-scale equipment and consumer goods, promoting high-quality development and driving investment and consumption for long-term benefits.
If the annual CIT payable is insufficient for the offset, it can be carried forward to future years for up to five years.
The CIT payable refers to the balance after multiplying the annual taxable income by the applicable tax rate and deducting the tax reductions and exemptions according to China’s CIT Law and relevant preferential policies.
Note that companies enjoying the tax incentives must use the transformed equipment themselves. If the equipment is transferred or leased within five tax years after the transformation is completed, the incentives must stop from the month the equipment is no longer in use, and the previously offset CIT must be repaid.
The “special equipment” eligible for the preferential tax treatment covers equipment purchased and used by companies listed in the Catalog of Special Equipment for Safe Production for Corporate Income Tax Incentives (2018 Edition) and the Catalog of Special Equipment for Energy Saving, Water Conservation, and Environmental Protection for Corporate Income Tax Incentives (2017 Edition).
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
China
Revealing the Encouraged Industries of Hainan in 2024: Unlocking Opportunities
The 2024 Hainan Encouraged Catalogue, issued by the NDRC, MOF, and STA, aims to boost industries in the Hainan Free Trade Port. It prioritizes sectors like tourism, modern services, and high technologies, offering incentives for foreign investment and market access expansion since 2020. The Catalogue includes 176 entries across 14 categories, with 33 new additions focusing on cultural tourism, new energy, medicine and health, aviation, aerospace, and environmental protection.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the State Taxation Administration (STA), has issued the Catalogue of Industries Encouraged to Develop in Hainan Free Trade Port (2024 Version), hereinafter referred to as the “2024 Hainan Encouraged Catalogue.” The updated Catalogue took effect on March 1, 2024, replacing the previous 2020 Edition.
Beyond the industries already addressed in existing national catalogues, the new entries in the 2024 Hainan Encouraged Catalogue are based on practical implementation experiences and the specific needs within Hainan, prioritizing sectors such as tourism, modern services, and high technologies.
The Hainan FTP has been providing incentives to draw investors to invest and establish businesses in the region, especially foreign investment. Alongside a phased approach to opening the capital account and facilitating free capital movement, Hainan has significantly expanded market access for foreign enterprises since 2020, particularly in sectors such as telecommunications, tourism, and education.
The Hainan Encouraged Catalogue comprises two main sections:
Similar to the approach adopted by the western regions, foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) should always implement their production or operations in accordance with the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment.
On top of the industries already addressed in existing national catalogues, the 2024 Hainan Encouraged Catalogue encompasses 14 distinct categories and a total of 176 entries especially encouraged in the region, including 33 new additions compared to the 2020 Edition. These new entries predominantly span cultural tourism, new energy, medicine and health, aviation and aerospace, and ecological and environmental protection, among others.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
China
Key Guidelines for Companies in Compliance Audits for Personal Information Protection Standards
China’s standards authority has released draft standards for personal information protection compliance audits, potentially making them mandatory for companies in 2023. The audits will require companies to undergo annual or biennial checks based on the number of people’s information they handle. The draft standards outline the audit process and requirements, seeking public feedback until September 11, 2024.
China’s standards authority has released draft standards for conducting personal information protection compliance audits. Regular compliance audits to ensure compliance with personal information protection regulations may become a requirement for companies in China under draft measures released in 2023. We explain the audit processes and requirements proposed in the draft standards.
The Standardization Administration of China (SAC) has released a set of draft standards for conducting personal information (PI) protection compliance audits. Under draft measures released by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) in August 2023, companies that process the PI of people in China are required to undergo regular compliance audits.
Specifically, companies that process the PI of over one million people must undergo a compliance audit at least once a year, while companies that process the PI of under one million people must carry out an audit at least once every two years.
While the draft measures stipulate the obligations of the auditing body and the audit scope, the draft standards outline the specific audit process, including evidence management and permissions of the audit organization, as well as the professional and ethical requirements of auditors.
The Secretariat of the National Cybersecurity Standardization Technical Committee is soliciting public feedback on the draft standards until September 11, 2024. Public comment on the draft measures released in August last year closed on September 2, 2023, but no updated document has yet been released.
The draft standards outline five stages of the PI protection compliance audit: audit preparation, implementation, reporting, problem rectification, and archiving management.
Auditors are required to accurately document identified security issues in the audit working papers, ensuring that the records are comprehensive, clear, and conclusive, reflecting the audit plan and its execution, as well as all relevant findings and recommendations.
This article is republished from China Briefing. Read the rest of the original article.
China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com.
- China Provides Tax Incentives on Special Equipment for Green and Digital Development
- Revealing the Encouraged Industries of Hainan in 2024: Unlocking Opportunities
- Key Guidelines for Companies in Compliance Audits for Personal Information Protection Standards
- A Comprehensive Guide to China’s Expanded 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy at 37 Ports
- Regulatory Changes in China Aim to Boost Service Sector Growth in Six Cities
- Adhering to Updated Registered Capital Regulations in China’s Revised Company Law
