Policies

China to timely fine-tune monetary policy

China will maintain a prudent monetary policy in the months ahead， while timely and appropriately fine-tuning the policy， the People’s Bank of China (PBOC)， or the central bank， said on May 10， Xinhua reported.

The government will make its monetary policy more targeted， flexible and forward-looking， said a report released by the PBOC to address the country’s monetary policy adopted in the first quarter.

The statement came as the world’s second largest economy is trying to cool inflation while sustaining economic growth. Its first quarter GDP growth hit a nearly three year low of 8.1percent caused by sagging exports and domestic tightening efforts.

The economy still has many favorable conditions and positive factors to support steady growth， the report said， citing an improving external market and rapid development in the country’s central and western regions， it said.

But it also faces lingering uncertainties， which include a correcting property market that will affect growth in the short term， and fluctuating consumer prices， the report said.

Consumer prices may rebound， as prices of labor-intensive agricultural products， service products and resource products tend to surge on rising labor costs， and a volatile global commodity market has kept imported inflationary pressure in place， the report warned.

While checking changes in foreign exchange funds and market credit demand， the PBOC will use combined monetary tools such as open market operations and banks’reserve requirement ratio (RRR) to flexibly regulate banking liquidity， it said.

China to expand high-end equipment manufacturing sector

China is looking to expand the sales revenue of its high-end equipment manufacturing sector to six trillion yuan ($951 billion) by 2015， according to the industry’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) published on May 7 by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， China Daily reported.

Sales of high-end equipment will account for 15 percent of the overall revenue of equipment manufacturing industry， and help generate 28 percent of industrial added value， together with alarger share of the global market， according to the plan on the ministry’s website.

By 2020， the proportion of revenue will expand to 25 percent， while the industrial added value part will grow another two percentage points， which will make high-end equipment manufacturing a pillar industry of the world’s second-largest economy.

High-end equipment mainly refers to aviation equipment， satellite and applications， railway transportation equipment， marine engineering equipment， and intelligent manufacturing equipment.

China to expand property tax to more cities

The State Council has decided to expand property tax to more pilot cities this year， Shanghai Securities News reported on May 10.

It is unknown which cities will be pilot cities and what taxation plan will be adopted， Qin Hong， director of the Policy Study Center of Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China， told Shanghai Securities News.

Taxation for owning a property and trading a property will both be considered， the Shanghai Securities News reported， citing Xie Xuren， Minister of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance， State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development are evaluating the effects of property taxation in the pilot cities of Chongqing and Shanghai， according to the Shanghai Securities News.

The “Shanghai model” may be applied in new pilot cities， the newspaper reported， citing an unnamed analyst.

Green credit criteria taking shape

China is working on criteria with which to evaluate the implementation of its green credit policy by banks and enterprises， according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission， China Daily reported.

A green credit policy means using loans as a stimulus for green industries and projects， while it also requires banks to deny loans to energy inefficient and polluting enterprises. It has been advocated by international organizations like the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group for years.

Enforcement of the policy will be tied to restrictions on doing business in certain areas， and the commission can deny promotions to top executives for failing to carry it out.

Bad performers might even be identified on a black list， a senior official of China’s top bank ingregulator said on May 16.

Wang Zhaoxing， vice-chairman of the commission， said that China will issue an evaluation and system of rewards and punishments when the time is right.

“We will evaluate the enforcement of the green credit policy by China’s financial institutions and use it as a reference for regulatory rating， institutional access， business access and the promotion of top executives，” Wang said.

China to fix copyright law draft amendment

The National Copyright Administration (NCA) will revise a draft amendment to China’s copyright law that has stirred controversy since being circulated to seek public opinion， according to an announcement by the NCA. The NCA has received 1，560 comments concerning 81 articles in the draft amendment since itwas published on March 31， according to the administration.

The NCA will therefore revise the draft amendment based on the public’s suggestions， as well as those from a committee of experts， and publish the revised version to seek more opinions before the end of May， an NCA official said.

The draft amendment has triggered heated discussion among members of the public. It has also drawn wide attention from trade organizations and businesses from the United States， the European Union， Britain and Japan， as well as from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Public feedback has mostly concerned statutory licensing， collective management of copyrights， the review obligations of network service providers， legal liability for non-exclusive license users， compensation for damages and the registration of copyrights. Chinese music composers have expressed anger regarding the draft amendment， as they believe it will diminish their professional rights if passed.

Article 46 of the document stipulates that music producers may use a musical work from another recorded product， as long as it has already been published for more than three months， in their own productions without having to obtain consent from the copyright holder. The article says producers must report the use to relevant government authorities and fairly compensate the original artist.

The draft says that if the copyright holder does not state otherwise， royalties for such use will be collected through collective copyright management organizations.

Composers have complained that the draft may deprive them of their copyright interests.

Industry insiders have also expressed concerns that the provisions will make record companies less willing to invest in record promotion.

China issues policies to raise wellbeing of working women

A new regulation， made public on May 7， provides employed Chinese women with better welfare policies， including extended maternity leave and higher workplace protection， Xinhua reported.

According to the regulation adopted by the State Council in April， maternity leave has been extended from 90 days to 98 days， which is in line with the 14-week minimum standard set by the International Labour Organization.

The regulation more clearly specifies leave granted to women who have miscarriages. According to it， a female employee will get 15 days of leave if their miscarriage occurs within the first four months of pregnancy and 42 days of leave if it happens later.

Under the regulation， female employees should be paid either by the maternity insurance programs they have joined or by employers during their maternity leave.

The regulation also expands the categories of jobs that pregnant women and breast feeding mothers are banned from working for， while removing restrictions on what jobs married women at the childbearing age should take.