Guo-Fa (2022) No. 12

To the people’s governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and all ministries and commissions of the State Council and their respective agencies:

Since the beginning of this year, under the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core, all regions and departments have effectively coordinated epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development. In accordance with the deployment of the Central Economic Work Conference and the Government Work Report, we have excelled in “Stability on Six Fronts” work and have fully implemented the “Security in Six Areas” tasks, China’s economic operations, on the whole, have achieved a stable start. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis have led to increased risks and challenges, and the complexity, severity, and uncertainty of China’s economic development environment have increased. Stable growth, employment, and prices face new challenges.

The pandemic must be prevented, the economy must be stabilized, and development must be safe. These are the clear requirements of the Party Central Committee. We must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, completely, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of the new development pattern, and promote high-quality development. We must efficiently coordinate pandemic prevention and control and economic and social development, protect people’s lives and health to the greatest extent, minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development, and coordinate development and security as we strive to achieve the expected goals of economic and social development throughout the year. In order to thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CCP Central Committee and the State Council, the Package of Policies and Measures for Solidly Stabilizing the Economy is hereby distributed to you, please implement it conscientiously.

People’s governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government should strengthen organizational leadership, take into account your own local conditions, and make great efforts to implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and the deployments of the Government Work Report. At the same time, take action from the front and strengthen as appropriate, pressing forward with implementation of the Package of Policy Measures for Solidly Stabilizing the Economy as quickly as possible to ensure that it is fully implemented in a timely manner so as to have a greater policy effect on stabilizing the economy, helping to bail out enterprises, etc., as soon as possible. All departments should closely coordinate and cooperate to form work synergies and redeploy, re-promote, and reinforce action in the work of their own departments, fields, and industries in accordance with the 33 specific policy measures and division of labor arrangements in the six areas set out in the Package of Policy Measures for Solidly Stabilizing the Economy. If it is necessary to issue supporting implementation rules, this should be fully completed before the end of May. In the near future, the General Office of the State Council will work with relevant parties to conduct special inspections on the situation regarding the stabilizing of growth, stabilizing of market players, and ensuring of employment in relevant provinces.

All regions and departments should further improve their political positions, enhance their sense of responsibility, mission, and urgency in their work, take responsibility and action, seek truth and be pragmatic, work concertedly and tenaciously, and earnestly shoulder the responsibility of stabilizing the macro economy. In the spirit of driving nails, knuckle down to effectively implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. Effectively stabilize the economy in the second quarter and strive to lay a solid foundation for development in the second half of the year. Keep the economy operating within a reasonable range and take concrete action to welcome the successful convocation of the Party’s 20th National Congress.

State Council

May 24, 2022

(Deletions have been made to this document)

Package of Policy Measures to Solidly Stabilize the Economy

(33 measures in six areas)

Fiscal Policies (7 Measures)

1. Further intensify VAT refund policies: On the basis of the full refund of existing tax credits and the full refund by the month of incremental tax credits already introduced for enterprises in the six industries of manufacturing, scientific research and technical services, electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply, software and information technology services, ecological protection and environmental governance, and civil aviation, transportation, warehousing, and postal services, conduct research into bringing into the policy scope of full monthly refunds of incremental tax credits and one-time full refunds of existing tax credits enterprises in the seven industries of wholesale and retail, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery, accommodation and catering, residential services, repairs, and other services, education, health and social work, and culture, sports, and entertainment. It is estimated that the newly added tax refunds will amount to RMB 142 billion. Act quickly to process tax refunds for small and micro enterprises, and individual industrial and commercial traders, and increase the intensity of support, based on voluntary taxpayer applications, basically completing the concentrated refund of existing tax credits before June 30; the increased total amount of tax refunds introduced by the various tax refund policies issued this year will reach about RMB 1.64 trillion. Strengthen precautions against tax refund risks and severely punish behaviors such as tax evasion and tax fraud in accordance with the law.

2. Accelerate the progress of fiscal expenditures: Supervise, urge, and guide local governments to speed up the progress of budget implementation, break down, and release funds as quickly as possible, and see that funds are promptly disbursed. Disburse transfer payment budgets as quickly as possible to speed up the expenditure progress at the same level. Intensify efforts to put idle funds to use, recovering surplus funds and carryover funds that have not been used up for two consecutive years and complying with regulations to put them into overall use, and recovering carryover funds of less than two years that are no longer required for their original purposes and put them into overall use for areas of economic and social development that urgently need support. Coordinate with the needs of tax refunds and project construction, etc., in carrying out capital allocation and strengthening treasury fund guarantees, ensuring that relevant work progresses smoothly.

3. Speed up the issuance and use of local government special bonds and expand the scope of support: Swiftly complete the year’s tasks of issuing and using special bonds, accelerating progress in the issuance and use of the RMB 3.45 trillion of special bonds already distributed this year, basically completing issuance before the end of June and striving to basically complete utilization before the end of August. On the condition that laws and regulations are complied with and risks are controllable, the Ministry of Finance will work with the People’s Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission to guide commercial banks to provide supporting financing support for eligible special bond project construction entities and effectively connect credit funds and special bond funds. On the basis of the nine major fields of transportation infrastructure, energy, affordable housing projects, etc., that were determined in the early stage, appropriately expand the fields supported by special bonds, prioritizing consideration for new infrastructure, new energy projects, etc., for inclusion in the scope of support.

4. Make good use of government financing guarantees and other policies: This year, the scale of business for new National Financing Guarantee Fund re-guarantee cooperation will exceed RMB 1 trillion. For qualified SMEs, micro enterprises, and individual industrial and commercial traders in the transportation, catering, accommodation, and tourism industries, encourage government financing guarantee institutions to provide financing guarantee support; government financing guarantee institutions should promptly fulfill compensation obligations; press financial institutions to lend as quickly as possible. Do not blindly withdraw, suppress, or cut off loans but rather include the above-mentioned qualified financing guarantee business into the scope of re-guarantee cooperation of the National Financing Guarantee Fund. Thoroughly implement the central government’s policy of reducing fees and offering incentives and subsidies for financing guarantees for small and micro enterprises, plan and arrange for the RMB 3 billion in funding to support financing guarantee institutions in further expanding the scale of financing guarantee business for small and micro enterprises and reducing financing guarantee rates. Encourage localities where conditions allow to provide subsidies for a limited period for guarantee business premiums to support agriculture and small businesses.

5. Increase the extent that government procurements support SMEs: Increase the price deduction ratio for small and micro enterprises from 6%–10% to 10%–20%. Government procurement projects should implement government procurement policies that promote the development of SMEs. Reasonably divide procurement packages based on project characteristics, specialist types, and professional fields, and actively expand joint bidding and large enterprise subcontracting. Lower the threshold for SME participation and adhere to open, fair, and equal competition. According to unified quality standards, increase the share reserved for SME procurement from more than 30% to more than 40% this year for the coming period. For non-reserved projects, small and micro enterprises should be given preferential evaluation and the scale of SME contracts should be increased.

6. Expand implementation of the policy of deferred payment of social security premiums: On the condition of ensuring that all social insurance benefits are paid in full and on time, temporarily postpone units’ payment of the three social insurance premiums for all SMEs, and all individual industrial and commercial traders insured by units, which face temporary difficulties in production and operation in eligible areas because of the pandemic, with the period of delay temporarily implemented until the end of this year. On the basis of the implementation of the policy of temporary deferral of three social insurance premiums for the five industries facing particular difficulties, including catering, retail, tourism, civil aviation, and road, water, and railway transportation, expand the deferral policy’s implementation to other industries experiencing particular difficulties that have been severely impacted by the pandemic, for which large areas of the industry have seen their enterprises experience production and operation difficulties, and which are in line with the direction of national industrial policies, with the period of deferred payment for elder care insurance premiums extended to the end of this year.

7. Increase support for job stabilization: Optimize the unemployment insurance return policy for stable employment, further increase the proportion of returns, and increase the proportion of returns to large enterprises for stable employment from 30% to 50%. Expand the scope benefitting from unemployment insurance work retention subsidies, from small, medium, and micro enterprises to all insured enterprises that are temporarily unable to operate normally due to the severe impact of the pandemic. For enterprises that recruit college graduates during their graduation year, sign labor contracts, and participate in unemployment insurance, one-time job expansion subsidies may be issued according to the standard of not more than RMB 1500 per person. The specific subsidy standard is determined by each province, and the one-time employment subsidy will not be enjoyed repeatedly, with the policy implementation period lasting until the end of the year.

Monetary and Financial Policies (5 Measures)

8. Encourage the implementation of deferrals of principal and interest repayments for small, medium, and micro enterprises, individual industrial and commercial traders, truck driver loans, and personal housing and consumer loans for those affected by the pandemic, etcetera. Commercial banks and other financial institutions should continue to negotiate independently with micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (including owners of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises), individual industrial and commercial traders, and truck drivers, etcetera, in accordance with the principle of marketization, implementing deferred repayment of principal and interest on their loans, striving to grant all eligible deferrals. In principle, the date of this round of deferred debt repayment will not exceed the end of 2022. Financial subsidiaries of central automobile enterprises should play a leading and exemplary role and provide a 6-month deferral of principal and interest repayment support for commercial truck consumer loans issued before June 30, 2022. For those who are hospitalized or quarantined due to infection with COVID-19, quarantined and under observation due to the pandemic, or who have lost their source of income, financial institutions shall flexibly adopt methods to adjust repayment plans such as reasonable delays for repayment times, loan term extensions, and deferral of repayment, etcetera, for existing personal housing, consumption, and other loans. Adhere to substantive risk judgment for deferred loans, do not downgrade loan risk classifications due to the pandemic factor alone, do not affect credit records, and exempt penalty interest.

9. Increase inclusive small and micro loans support: Continue to increase the re-loan quota for support for agriculture and small businesses. Increase the financial support ratio of inclusive small and micro loan support tools from 1% to 2%. That is, the People’s Bank of China shall provide financial support according to 2% of the incremental balance of inclusive small and micro loans of relevant local corporate banks (including inclusive small and micro loans formed by deferred principal and interest repayment) so as to better guide and support local corporate banks to issue inclusive small and micro loans. Guide financial institutions and large enterprises to support financing such as pledges of accounts receivable of medium, small and micro enterprises. Quickly revise the system to shorten the acceptance period of commercial bills from 1 year to 6 months and increase rediscount support. Support the development of large, medium, and small enterprises through supply chain financing and bank-enterprise cooperation.

10. Continue to promote the steady, moderate decline of real loan interest rates. On the basis of making good use of the early RRR reduction funds and expanding credit supply, give full play to the role of the market interest rate pricing self-discipline mechanism, continuously release the reform efficiency of the loan market quoted rate (LPR) formation mechanism, give play to the role of the market-based adjustment mechanism for deposit interest rates, guide financial institutions to transmit the effect of deposit interest rate reduction to the loan side, and continue to promote the steady, moderate decline of real loan interest rates.

11. Improve the efficiency of capital market financing. Scientifically and reasonably grasp the normalization of initial public offering and listing (IPO) and refinancing. Encourage mainland enterprises to list in Hong Kong and encourage qualified platform enterprises to list overseas in accordance with laws and regulations. Continue to support and encourage financial institutions to issue financial bonds. Establish green channels for financial bonds for “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers,” small and micro enterprises, green [sectors], and entrepreneurship and innovation, providing financing support for enterprises in key areas. Supervise, urge, and guide the various infrastructures of the interbank bond market and the exchange bond market to comprehensively sort out charging items, and wherever possible exempt private enterprises from bond financing transaction fees, further releasing a signal of support for private enterprises.

12. Increase financial institution support for infrastructure construction and major projects. Policy-oriented development banks should optimize their loan structure and provide more loans and loans with longer terms. Guide commercial banks to further increase loan issuance and extend loan terms. Encourage insurance companies, etcetera, to give play to their long-term capital advantages and increase their support for water conservancy, water transportation, highways, logistics and other infrastructure construction and major projects.

Policies to Stabilize Investment and Promote Consumption, etc. (6 Measures)

13. Accelerate the promotion of a number of water conservancy projects for which feasibility evidencing is well developed. In 2022, start another batch of projects that have been included in plans and for which conditions are ripe, including major water diversion projects such as the follow-up project of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, key flood control and disaster reduction, reinforcement of dangerous reservoirs, construction and renovation of irrigation areas, and other projects. Further improve the list of engineering projects, strengthen organization and implementation, and coordinate, promote, and optimize work processes, and effectively improve water resources protection and disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities.

14. Accelerate the promotion of investment in transportation infrastructure. For comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network projects along rivers, coasts, borders, ports and waterways, etc., strengthen the guarantee of resource elements, optimize review and approval procedures, and promptly promote the implementation of projects, ensuring that all projects that should and can go into operation do so. Support China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. in the issuance of RMB 300 billion in railway construction bonds. Start a new round of rural road construction and renovation, completing this year’s goals and tasks and, on this basis, further strengthening financial and other policy support, adding the completion of 30,000 kilometers of newly renovated rural roads, implementing 30,000 kilometers of rural highway safety and life protection projects, and renovating 3,000 dangerous bridges on rural roads.

15. Continue to promote the construction of urban underground comprehensive pipe galleries according to local conditions. Guide all localities to promote in coordination the construction of pipe corridors during work on the renovation of old urban pipe networks, etc., actively develop trunk and branch pipe corridors in new urban areas according to functional needs, rationally arrange pipe corridor systems, and coordinate the laying of various pipelines. Accelerate the establishment of clear entry fee policies, take multiple measures to solve the problem of blocked investment and financing, and promote the implementation of a number of qualified underground comprehensive pipe corridor projects.

16. Stabilize and expand private investment. Start the preparation of major national infrastructure development plans, carry out pilot projects for high-quality infrastructure development, promote vigorously and in an orderly way the implementation of 102 major projects in the 14th Five-Year Plan, and encourage and attract more social capital to participate in major national projects. In supply chain and industrial chain bidding projects, give preference to collaborations between large, medium, and small enterprises and encourage private enterprises to give full play to their own advantages to participate in tackling key problems. In 2022, add support for approximately 500 new “little giant” companies. Encourage private investment to focus on urban infrastructure, etc., and participate in the construction of projects in key fields through a comprehensive development model.

17. Promote the regulated and healthy development of the platform economy. Introduce specific measures to support the regulated and healthy development of the platform economy, set up “traffic lights” on the premise of preventing the disorderly expansion of capital, maintain the order of market competition, and promote the regulated and healthy development of the platform economy through fair competition. Give full play to the role of the platform economy in stabilizing employment, stabilize the development expectations of platform enterprises and their symbiotic small, medium, and micro enterprises, and use the development of platform enterprises to drive relief for small, medium, and micro enterprises. Guide platform companies to make a good job in pandemic prevention and control online and offline linkages in the “last mile” of supplying pandemic prevention materials and important livelihood commodities. Encourage platform companies to accelerate technological research and development breakthroughs in fields including AI, cloud computing, blockchain, operating systems, and processors.

18. Steadily increase bulk consumption in automobiles, home appliances, and the like. Localities shall not add new vehicle purchase restrictions, and localities that have already begun implementing purchase restrictions shall gradually increase numbers in incremental vehicle indicators, relax qualification restrictions on car buyers, and encourage the implementation of differentiated policies for urban and suburban indicators. Accelerate the issuance of policy documents to promote a transformation from purchasing controls to use controls for automobiles. The policy of restricting the relocation of used cars shall be completely abolished, the restrictions on the relocation of small, non-commercially operating used cars that meet the National V emission standards will be lifted nationwide, and the regulations on used car market entity registration and filing, and on vehicle transaction registration and management, will be improved. Support whole-car import port areas to carry out parallel import business and improve the environmental protection information disclosure system for parallel imported cars. Implement refined management of pickup trucks entering cities and study how to further relax restrictions on pickup trucks entering cities. Research support policies for the reduction of the vehicle purchase tax for passenger vehicles below a certain displacement within this year. Optimize the investment, construction, and operation model of charging piles (stations) for new energy vehicles, gradually realize full coverage of charging facilities in all communities and operating parking lots, and accelerate the construction of charging piles (stations) in areas such as expressway service areas and passenger transport hubs. Encourage home appliance manufacturers to carry out recycling target responsibility system actions, guide financial institutions to improve their financial service capabilities, and better meet the needs of consumption upgrades.

Policies to Ensure Food and Energy Security (5 Measures)

19. Improve policies such as grain income guarantees. In view of the current situation that the price of agricultural materials is still high, on the basis of the RMB 20 billion in agricultural materials subsidies that have been issued in the previous period, promptly issue the second batch of RMB 10 billion in agricultural materials subsidies to make up for the decline in income from growing grain caused by rising costs. Actively make a good job of importing potash fertilizers. Improve the implementation contingency plan for the minimum purchase price, implement the policy requirements to appropriately increase the minimum purchase price of rice and wheat in 2022, and promptly start the purchase according to the market situation so as to protect the enthusiasm of farmers for growing grain. Optimize the grain-growing subsidy policy and improve the subsidy policy framework for grain-growing farmers.

20. On the condition of ensuring safe, clean, and efficient utilization, release high-quality coal production capacity in an orderly manner. Establish and improve the incentive and restraint policy mechanisms for coal production. Accelerate the procedures for guaranteeing coal supply in accordance with laws and regulations and support eligible open-pit and underground coal mine projects to release production capacity on the condition of ensuring safe production and ecological safety. Adjust the nuclear production capacity increase policy as soon as possible, support coal mines with safe production conditions to increase production capacity, accelerate the release of high-quality production capacity of coal mines, and ensure the safety of electricity and coal supply during the summer peak.

21. Quickly promote the implementation of a number of energy projects. Press towards the implementation as soon as possible of major projects in the energy sector that basically meet the conditions for starting construction this year. Actively and steadily promote preliminary research, feasibility evidencing, and design optimization work for the Longpan, Jinsha River project, and other hydropower projects. Accelerate the construction of large-scale wind power photovoltaic bases focusing on deserts, the Gobi, and wilderness areas and act quickly to launch the second batch of projects in the near future. Make overall arrangements for large-scale wind and photovoltaic base construction projects regarding the use of land, forest, grassland, and water and approve and start construction of base projects, coal-fired power projects, and UHV transmission channels in accordance with procedures. Focus on the deployment of a number of pumped-storage hydropower stations that have a strong role in guaranteeing the security of the power system, a large role in promoting the large-scale development of new energy, and relatively superior economic indicators, and speed up the construction of projects with mature conditions. Accelerate the planning and preliminary work of inter-provincial power grid projects such as Zhangbei to Shengli, Sichuan-Chongqing main grid exchange project, Longdong to Shandong, and the Jinshang to Hubei DC project.

22. Improve the capacity and level of coal reserves. Make good use of special re-loans and qualified bank loans to support the clean and efficient utilization of coal. Press down firmly on local reserve responsibilities.

23. Strengthen the reserve capacity of crude oil and other energy resources. Plan for reserve projects and start construction as soon as possible. Promote the construction of government reserve projects and achieve reserve capacity for completed projects as soon as possible.

Policies to Ensure Product Chain and Supply Chain Stability (7 Measures)

24. Reduce the cost of water, electricity, internet, etc., for market entities. Fully implement the policy of “not stopping supply when in arrears” for the water, power, and gas use of small and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial traders that are temporarily experiencing difficulties in production and operation due to the impact of the pandemic, establish a 6-month deferment period, which can be further extended according to actual local conditions, and charge no late payment fee during the deferment period. Guide local governments to subsidize the expenses, such as water, electricity, and gas, of small, medium, and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial traders. Clean up and standardize urban water supply, power supply, gas, heating, and other industry charges, cancel unreasonable charges, standardize government pricing and operator pricing charges, and implement list-based management of remaining charging items. In 2022, the average broadband and private line tariffs for small, medium, and micro enterprises will be reduced by another 10%. In the field of bidding, letters of guarantee (insurance) will be fully implemented in lieu of cash to pay deposits for bidding, contract performance, and project quality, and bidders should be encouraged to waive bid guarantees for small, medium, and micro enterprise bidders.

25. Promote temporary reductions and exemptions of property rents for market players. In 2022, three to six months of rent reduction and exemptions shall be implemented for state-owned properties leased by small and micro enterprises and individual industrial and commercial traders in the service industry. Lessors who reduce or exempt rents can reduce or exempt the real estate tax and urban land use tax in the current year according to regulations, and state-owned banks shall be encouraged to provide preferential interest rate pledge loans and other support as needed to lessors who reduce or exempt rents. Non-state-owned properties with rent reduction and exemption can equally enjoy the above-mentioned preferential policies. All regions are encouraged and guided to take more practical and effective measures to promote the reduction or exemption of property rents for market players in light of respective regional conditions.

26. Increase bailout support for enterprises in industries that have been greatly affected by the pandemic, such as civil aviation. While making good use of special re-loans to support the clean and efficient utilization of coal, transportation, and logistics, technological innovation, and inclusive pensions, etc., increase the amount of emergency loans for civil aviation by RMB 150 billion, and appropriately expand the scope of support in order to support troubled aviation companies to tide over the difficulties. Support the aviation industry to issue RMB 200 billion in bonds. Considering comprehensively the needs of civil aviation infrastructure construction and other factors, study and solve problems such as funding shortages. At the same time, study and propose specific plans for capital injection to relevant aviation enterprises. Increase the number of international passenger flights in an orderly manner to create conditions for facilitating Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and foreign economic and trade exchanges and cooperation. Banks are encouraged to issue loans to enterprises in industries such as culture, tourism, catering, and accommodation that have been greatly affected by the pandemic.

27. Optimize policies for enterprises to resume work and reach production. Pandemic medium- and high-risk areas should establish and improve a “white list” system for resumption of work and production for operation guarantee enterprises, pandemic prevention material production enterprises, continuous production and operation enterprises, key product chain and supply chain enterprises, key foreign trade enterprises, and “new, distinctive, specialized, and sophisticated” SMEs, and other key enterprises. Promptly summarize and promote experience and practices such as “point-to-point” transportation, faceless handover, and green channels and refine and implement measures to serve “whitelist” enterprises, promote the linkage between ministries and provinces and regional mutual recognition, and jointly promote the resumption of work and production of enterprises in product chains and supply chains. Actively guide all regions to implement their territorial responsibilities and when outbreaks occur encourage qualified enterprises to carry out closed-loop production to ensure their stable production such that, in principle, enterprises would not be required to stop production. Governments where such enterprises are located should provide guidance on pandemic prevention and control and strengthen services such as employee return to work processes, logistics support, and upstream and downstream connections so as to minimize the impact of the pandemic on the normal production and operation of enterprises.

28. Improve the policy of ensuring smooth transportation and logistics. Cancel all pandemic prevention traffic restrictions on freight vehicles from pandemic low-risk areas, focus on breaking through bottlenecks of manufacturing logistics, and speed up the turnover of finished product inventory. Do not act without authorization to block or close expressways, ordinary roads, or waterway locks and strictly prohibit the hard isolation of county and rural roads. Do not act without authorization to shut down expressway service areas, port terminals, railway stations, or civil transport airports. Restricting the normal flow of people in low-risk areas is strictly forbidden. For freight vehicles coming from or entering or leaving cities where pandemic medium- or high-risk areas are located, implement the “collect, pass, and follow” system. Passenger and freight drivers, couriers, and crew members shall go to off-site free testing points for nucleic acid testing and antigen testing, with local governments treating them the same as local residents in including them in the scope of testing and ensuring they enjoy the same policies, and the required expenses being guaranteed by local finance bureaus.

29. Coordinate and increase support for logistics hubs and logistics enterprises. Accelerate the construction of the Ningbo-Zhoushan bulk commodity storage and transportation base and carry out research on the overall layout planning of bulk commodity storage and transportation bases. In 2022, the central government will allocate about RMB 5 billion to support national key hub cities, improve hubs’ cargo distribution, warehousing, transit transportation, and emergency support capabilities, guide and accelerate the development of multimodal transport integration, and reduce overall freight costs. In 2022, the central government will allocate about RMB 2.5 billion in service industry development funds to support the acceleration of the construction of the agricultural product supply chain system, and about RMB 3.8 billion will be used to support the implementation of county-based commercial construction actions. Accelerate the implementation of the RMB 100 billion special re-lending policy for transportation and logistics, supporting the financing of transportation and logistics and other enterprises, and increasing the support of structural monetary policy tools to stabilize the supply chain. Support the construction of a number of small refrigerated and fresh-keeping facilities in the main agricultural production areas and areas that have advantages in specialty agricultural products and promote the construction of a number of production and sales cold chain distribution centers.

30. Accelerate the promotion of major foreign investment projects and actively attract foreign investment. On the basis of major foreign-funded projects that have been included in special work classes and for which green channels have been opened up, give full play to the leading role of major foreign-funded projects and conduct feasibility evidencing and initiate as quickly as possible major foreign-funded projects with a large investment amount, a strong driving effect, and a wide coverage of the upstream and downstream of the product chain. Accelerate the revision of the Catalogue of Industries Encouraged for Foreign Investment, guide foreign investment into advanced manufacturing, technological innovation, and other fields, as well as in the central and western, and northeastern regions, and support foreign investment in the establishment of high- and new-tech R&D centers, etcetera. Further expand the cross-border financing channels of enterprises and support qualified high- and new-tech and “new, distinctive, specialized, and sophisticated” enterprises to carry out pilot projects of foreign debt facilitation quotas. Establish and improve regular exchange mechanisms with foreign business associations and foreign-funded enterprises in China, actively solve issues such as the convenience of doing business for foreign-funded enterprises in China, and further stabilize and expand foreign investment.

Policies to Protect the Basic Livelihood of the People (3 Measures)

31. Implement the housing provident fund temporary support policy. Enterprises affected by the pandemic may apply for a deferral of housing provident fund payments in accordance with regulations and make supplementary payments upon expiration. During this period, paid-in employees shall withdraw and apply for housing provident fund loans as normal and shall not be affected by the delay in payment. When depositors affected by the pandemic cannot repay housing provident fund loans as normal this shall not be treated as an overdue payment and shall not be included in credit records. Each region can increase the amount of housing provident fund rental housing withdrawals based on actual local conditions to better meet actual needs.

32. Improve employment and entrepreneurship support policies for populations transferred out of agriculture and the rural labor force. Strengthen fiscal and financial support for areas and industries that absorb large numbers from populations transferring away from agriculture. The central government will allocate RMB 40 billion in incentive funds for the urbanization of populations transferring out of agriculture, promoting improvement of the system of providing basic public services in places of permanent residence, and including eligible new citizens into business guarantees scope of loan support. According to national land space planning and the number of people who settled in given cities in the previous year, the scale of newly-added construction land of various types in cities and towns shall be reasonably arranged. Broaden local and nearby employment channels for rural labor forces. Give priority to attracting rural labor forces for major construction projects and work-based relief projects.

33. Improve social security measures for people’s livelihoods. Guide all localities to implement properly the linkage mechanism linking social assistance and security standards with price increases and provide subsidies promptly and in full to ensure the basic living of low-income groups. Make good use of the RMB 154.7 billion in aid and subsidy funds allocated by the central government, consolidating the responsibilities of local governments and using the direct mechanism of financial funds for timely and full distribution to people in need of assistance. Make a good job of providing living assistance to disaster-affected peoples, accurately carry out assistance work for those in need of assistance guarantees and provide targeted assistance to those experiencing temporary difficulties. In response to current localized strengthening of controls due to pandemic clusters in certain areas, simultaneously promote both pandemic prevention and control while also ensuring people’s basic livelihoods, and ensure the supply and stable pricing of living materials such as rice, noodles, oil, vegetables, meat, eggs, and milk. Coordinate development and safety. Knuckle down on the implementation of safety production responsibilities, thoroughly carry out safety inspections, strictly prevent safety accidents in traffic, construction, coal mines, gas, and other areas, and carry out special rectifications for the safety of self-built houses, to effectively protect the safety of people’s lives and property.