Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- News analysis: What are the highlights of China's tariff adjustment in 2024?
Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Cheng.
At the end of each year, China will adjust the tariff rates of some import and export commodities according to the economic and social development. With the approval of ***, the Customs Tariff Commission issued an announcement on the 21st, clarifying China's tariff adjustment plan for 2024.
Experts and industry insiders said that the adjustment reduced the import tariffs of some drugs, raw materials, intermediate goods and parts and components, and adjusted and optimized the agreed tax rates and domestic tax items, which will help protect people's lives and health, better meet the needs of enterprise production and social development, and expand high-level opening up.
Safeguard people's livelihood: Implement zero tariff on some drugs and raw materials.
According to the announcement, from January 1, 2024, China will implement a provisional import tax rate lower than the most-favored-nation tax rate for 1,010 goods.
The use of tariff leverage to focus on people's livelihood concerns is a major focus of the provisional tax rate adjustment. The reporter consulted the attached table of the announcement and found that China will implement zero tariffs on some first-class drugs and raw materials for cancer and rare diseases, and reduce import tariffs on formula foods for special medical purposes.
Specifically, the drugs and raw materials that will be subject to zero tariffs next year include anti-cancer drugs for liver malignant tumors and rare disease drug raw materials for idiopathic pulmonary hypertension. In addition, there will be zero tariffs on ipratropium bromide solution for inhalation, which is widely used in clinical practice for childhood asthma diseases**.
Since 2018, China has successively cancelled import tariffs on the first and second batches of anticancer drugs, rare disease drugs and related raw materials.
According to Chen Wei, deputy director of the Department of Clinical Nutrition of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China continues to adjust import tariffs around the drugs and raw materials that the people are concerned about and have more clinical needs, which will help better protect people's health and safety and better realize "medical treatment for diseases".
Formula food for special medical purposes can meet the special needs of nutrients or diet for people with restricted eating, digestive and absorption disorders, metabolic disorders or specific disease states, and is conducive to protecting the life, health and health of special populations**. For example, patients with kidney disease, liver disease and other related diseases are in need. Chen Wei said.
Promoting innovation: A number of tariff adjustments have promoted the innovation and development of the manufacturing industry.
According to the announcement, in 2024, China will also reduce import tariffs on some raw materials, intermediate goods and parts, and accelerate the innovation and development of advanced manufacturing industry.
Among them, import duties on key equipment and components such as gas diffusion layers for fuel cells and generator sets with ignited piston internal combustion engines fueled by biogas will be reduced. Industry insiders said that this will better meet the needs of domestic production and accelerate the innovation and development of China's advanced manufacturing industry.
Import tariffs on resource commodities such as lithium chloride and cobalt carbonate will also be reduced next year.
The intensity of this tariff adjustment is not small. According to Huang Yonghe, a senior chief expert at the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, lithium chloride, cobalt carbonate, crude nickel hydroxide and other commodities are key raw materials for the new energy automobile industry, and reducing tariffs will help enterprises reduce production costs and promote the development of the new energy vehicle industry.
According to the development needs of the industry, next year will also be the original related steel product tax items, according to the different performance indicators, further subdivided into 10 tax items, involving automotive steel, ship steel, etc.
Tariff items are known as the "language" of the country, which is of great significance in strengthening import and export management, implementing policies and industrial policies. Industry insiders said that the further subdivision of the tax items is conducive to promoting China's high-end steel products to better participate in international market competition and promote the healthy and orderly development of the steel industry.
Expanded opening-up: Implement treaty tax rates for 30 countries or regions.
The announcement made it clear that according to the free ** agreements and preferential ** arrangements signed between China and relevant countries or regions, in 2024, the agreed tax rates will be implemented for some goods originating in 30 countries or regions under 20 agreements.
It can be said that China's 'circle of friends' with foreign countries is getting bigger and bigger, which further demonstrates China's determination to promote the construction of a high-standard free zone network and promote high-level opening up. Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.
Among them, the China-Nicaragua Freedom Agreement will implement the first tax reduction in 2024. In the future, after the final tariff reduction is completed, more than 95% of the tariff items on both sides will achieve zero tariff. "This will help further stimulate the potential of bilateral cooperation, promote close economic and trade cooperation between China and Nepal, and benefit the people of the two countries." Gao Lingyun said.
In 2023, China will also sign free ** agreements with Ecuador and Serbia, and will implement tariff concessions in a timely manner according to the progress of the agreement in force, and further expand the network of high-standard free ** zones facing the world.
In addition, in order to support and help the least developed countries to accelerate their development, the preferential tax rate will continue to be implemented in 2024 for the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China and completed the procedures for exchanging letters.
On the whole, the relevant arrangements for China's tariff adjustment in 2024 will help support the stabilization of foreign trade and foreign investment and better serve the overall situation of economic and social developmentIt is conducive to promoting the continuous enhancement of endogenous power and better coordinating development and securityIt is conducive to promoting high-level opening up and building a new system of open economyIt is conducive to promoting the transformation and upgrading of the industry and actively participating in the international market competition.