China releases plan for Shenzhen–Hong Kong sci-tech zone
An aerial view of the Hetao Shenzhen–Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, July 7, 2022. [Photo by Chen Wen/China News Service]
China's State Council has released a plan to boost the high-quality development of the Chinese-mainland part of a sci-tech innovation cooperation zone jointly developed by the southern tech hub Shenzhen in Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
According to the plan, the Shenzhen section of the Hetao zone for science and technology innovation cooperation will seek coordinated development with the section in the HKSAR, the two complementing each other with their respective strengths, making the cooperation zone a key engine for the high-quality development of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area.
By 2025, an efficient mechanism will be basically established to support the scientific and technological innovation cooperation between the two regions, the plan states, while the reconstruction of the Huanggang Control Point will be completed and customs clearance procedures will be realized.
The flow of factors, the chain of sci-tech innovation and the exchange of personnel between the two sections will be unimpeded, says the plan, which also expects the Shenzhen section to attract a number of lab clusters, research centers, and research and development centers of top firms, delivering key achievements through collaboration with the HKSAR.
By 2035, the Shenzhen section is expected to become a world-class research hub that enjoys a free and orderly cross-border flow of innovation factors, solidly supporting the development of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Macao sci-tech innovation corridor.
To this end, efforts will be made to coordinate with the HKSAR on promoting global sci-tech innovation, and to build an internationally competitive industrial base for the piloting and application of scientific achievements.
The plan also pledges to establish an internationalized scientific and technological innovation mechanism, as well as a platform to pool global wisdom and boost international exchange and cooperation.
China steps up tax, fee reduction to support businesses
Local tax officers explain preferential tax and fee policies to accounting clerks at a high-tech company in Nantong City, east China's Jiangsu Province, Aug. 16, 2023.
China has ramped up fiscal policies to support the development of businesses and bolster the real economy this year, official data showed.
Newly implemented tax refunds, as well as tax and fee cuts and deferrals, amounted to 1.05 trillion yuan (about 145.86 billion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of 2023, Luo Tianshu, an official of the State Taxation Administration, told a press conference on September 5, 2023.
An array of favorable measures have been rolled out to help enterprises weather difficulties. Preferential tax policies for micro and small firms and self-employed households have been extended to the end of 2027, and more corporate spending in research and development has become tax-deductible.
Vice Minister of Finance Wang Dongwei said at the press conference that technological innovation, the real economy, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, have received strong policy support.
From the exemption of value-added tax for small-scale taxpayers to the expansion of halved individual income tax rate to include more self-employed households, these policies have proven to be targeted and effective, Wang said.
Tax authorities will intensify efforts to better interpret and promote the favorable tax policies to ensure businesses can genuinely receive the benefits, according to Luo.