East China’s Jiangsu province will spare no effort to stabilize foreign trade by increasing financial, insurance and fiscal support as the COVID-19 spreads worldwide, according to a press conference held by the provincial government on Thursday.
Jiangsu saw its imports and exports, actual use of foreign capital, and total retail sales of social consumer goods fall by 10%, 5% and 20% in the first two months under the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Faced with the severe challenge, Jiangsu has introduced targeted measures such as supportive policies, tax and fee reductions, and optimizing the business environment to increase financial support and risk guarantee for foreign trade enterprises affected by the epidemic.
Other measures include periodic reduction and exemption of corporate social insurance premiums, preferential tax policies, and reduction of employee medical insurance premium rates.
At the same time, Jiangsu has established a coordination mechanism for the resumption of work and production to assist foreign trade enterprises and commercial and trade companies in recruiting, logistics, and insufficient supply of protective materials.
The customs have implemented rapid inspection and clearance on machinery, equipment, raw materials and components that are urgently needed for the resumption of production while smoothed the certification and clearance on the export of anti-epidemic materials.
The province has also spared no efforts to expand the advantages of Jiangsu's open economy and promote the resumption of production and production in the entire industrial chain in a bid to stabilize foreign investment and foreign trade.
In the meantime, Jiangsu has made every possible effort to accelerate the promotion of major foreign investment projects, improve trade facilitation, make reductions of fees, simplify processes and launch online investment promotions.
Measures have been taken to support and encourage various development zones to focus on attracting foreign-funded projects in biomedicine, high-end medical equipment and emergency equipment, diagnostic and testing industries.
These policies have paid off. As of the end of March, 95% of the foreign-funded enterprises in Jiangsu had resumed work and production. 90% of the foreign trade firms had resumed business.
Jiangsu has also racked its brain to stimulate consumption by launching consumption promotion month and cloud shopping festival in a sign of accelerating the spending potential.
Regional governments have guided enterprises to cultivate online business circles and featured platforms through the reduction and exemption of taxes and fees, and granting financial support and preferential interest rates.
Government authorities are studying policies and measures to promote the consumption of key commodities such as automobiles, furniture, and home appliances by promoting the ease of restrictions on automobile purchase.
