JC Master Legal News Issue 1094

Key Takeaways for This Issue
The China Association of Public Companies has issued the “Code of Professional Ethics for Independent Directors of Listed Companies.”
To thoroughly implement the State Council General Office’s “Opinions on Reforming the Independent Director System of Listed Companies” and the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s “Administrative Measures for Independent Directors of Listed Companies,” further standardize the professional conduct of independent directors, promote the cultivation of a positive professional image, and enhance their sense of professional responsibility, the China Association of Public Companies has formulated the “Code of Professional Ethics for Independent Directors of Listed Companies.”
CSRC: Strictly crack down on violations of the requirement that “short selling of restricted shares is prohibited.”
Regarding the implementation of the new regulation prohibiting short selling of restricted shares, a responsible official from the relevant department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that most securities offices have largely complied with the new requirements. However, on-site inspections have also revealed issues such as insufficient due diligence in verifying related parties at certain offices. The CSRC will urge securities companies to strengthen their transparent, end-to-end oversight of clients’ trading activities and purposes, and will rigorously crack down on violations of the “no short selling of restricted shares” rule—whether through multi-layered nesting, collusive trading, or coordinated arbitrage—and will investigate and prosecute every case discovered.
Addressing the issues of unbalanced and inadequate development by vigorously promoting the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy.
The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Data Administration recently issued the “Implementation Plan for Promoting Common Prosperity through the Digital Economy,” aiming to foster deep integration between digital technologies and the real economy, continuously strengthen, improve, and expand China’s digital economy, address imbalances and inadequacies in development through digital means, ensure that all people share in the benefits of the digital era, and contribute to achieving common prosperity in the course of high-quality development.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has issued a work guideline to deepen and expand public-interest litigation by the procuratorial organs in safeguarding women’s rights.
On January 4, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate’s website reported that its Eighth Procuratorial Office recently issued the “Notice on Further Deepening and Expanding Public Interest Litigation Work to Protect Women’s Rights,” providing further guidance to local authorities in advancing and broadening such efforts.
Finance & Capital Markets
The China Association of Public Companies has issued the “Code of Professional Ethics for Independent Directors of Listed Companies.”
To thoroughly implement the State Council General Office’s “Opinions on the Reform of the Independent Director System for Listed Companies” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s “Administrative Measures for Independent Directors of Listed Companies” (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”), further standardize the professional conduct of independent directors, promote the cultivation of a positive professional image, and enhance their sense of professional responsibility, the China Association of Public Companies has formulated the “Code of Professional Ethics for Independent Directors of Listed Companies,” which was promulgated and came into effect on December 29, 2023.
On April 14 this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the “Opinions,” marking the first major reform of the independent director system in 22 years. To thoroughly implement the spirit of the reform of the independent director system for listed companies and further strengthen the ethical standards of independent directors—reinforcing moral “soft constraints” alongside the system’s “hard constraints”—the China Association of Public Companies, in accordance with the reform requirements and work plan, initiated the drafting of the “Code of Professional Ethics for Independent Directors of Listed Companies.” Guided by key issues related to the conduct of independent directors in performing their duties and focusing on cultivating a positive image of independence characterized by integrity, impartiality, professionalism, and proactive engagement, the Code draws on the current status and履职 practices of independent directors, while emphasizing compliance, independence, and professional competence. After soliciting extensive feedback from independent directors, listed companies, academic experts, regulatory authorities, and self-regulatory organizations through multiple rounds of consultation, the Code was recently approved at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the China Association of Public Companies.
The “Code of Professional Ethics for Independent Directors of Listed Companies” comprises eight guiding principles: “Compliance with Laws and Regulations,” “Maintaining Independence,” “Objectivity and Pragmatism,” “Self-Discipline,” “Loyalty and Integrity,” “Diligence and Accountability,” “Effective Oversight,” and “Continuous Professional Development.” As a self-regulatory framework of the association, its promulgation will facilitate the effective implementation of the requirements set forth in the “Opinions” and the “Measures,” thereby advancing the institutional reform of the independent director system at the level of self-regulatory standards.
Going forward, the China Association of Public Companies will, in accordance with the work arrangements of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, continue to implement the requirements of the independent director system reform and promote the establishment of a comprehensive, integrated regulatory framework for independent directors. It will also strengthen publicity, advocacy, and guidance to ensure that independent directors adhere to ethical standards, making professional ethics a key criterion in evaluating their performance and conducting ongoing monitoring and assessment of compliance. For independent directors who violate ethical norms, the Association will urge the relevant listed companies to take appropriate internal measures and promptly report such cases to the pertinent CSRC bureaus and stock exchanges.

CSRC: Strictly crack down on violations of the requirement that “short selling of restricted shares is prohibited.”
On December 27, in response to the implementation of the new regulation barring securities offices from engaging in short selling of restricted shares, a responsible official from the relevant department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that most securities offices have largely complied with the new requirements. However, on-site inspections also revealed that certain offices have inadequately scrutinized related parties. The CSRC will urge securities offices to strengthen their transparent, end-to-end oversight of clients’ trading activities and purposes, and will rigorously crack down on violations of the “no short selling of restricted shares” rule—such as multi-layered nesting, collusive trading, and coordinated arbitrage—investigating and prosecuting each case as it is discovered.
On October 14, the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing stock exchanges issued the “Notice on Optimizing Arrangements Related to Short‑selling Transactions and Securities Lending under the Stock‑Lending‑to‑Margin Program,” clarifying that “investors holding restricted shares of listed companies, strategically allocated shares, or shares acquired through block trades from major shareholders or specific shareholders—i.e., shares subject to transfer restrictions—may not engage in short selling of such listed company’s stock during the restriction period, nor may their affiliates do so.” This further refines the requirement that “restricted shares may not be used for short selling.” At the same time, securities offices are required to verify investors’ circumstances in accordance with the look‑through principle, implement front‑end controls over relevant trading activities, and strictly prohibit participation in or facilitation of any violations.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that, following the issuance of the new regulations, regulatory authorities and industry associations have urged securities offices to comply by means such as issuing notices, conducting on-site inspections, and providing industry training. Securities offices have communicated the new requirements to investors through public announcements, contract amendments, and the signing of commitment letters, while expediting system upgrades and strengthening business controls. Until the system renovations are complete, they have assigned dedicated personnel to manage trade submissions and front‑end controls; to date, some offices have already put their new systems into operation. Overall, most securities offices have largely implemented the new requirements; however, on-site inspections have also identified issues at a few offices, including insufficient due diligence in verifying related parties.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that, in the next phase, it will, in accordance with the requirements of the Central Financial Work Conference, comprehensively strengthen穿透式 (penetrative) supervision. On the one hand, it will hold securities offices accountable and urge them to adhere to the principle of “no business unless visibility is clear,” enhancing their penetrating oversight of clients’ trading activities and transaction purposes, strictly prohibiting participation in or facilitation of violations, and effectively elevating their operational standards. On the other hand, it will reinforce regulatory enforcement, establish and refine mechanisms for penetrative supervision, and rigorously crack down on behaviors that contravene rules—such as borrowing shares of restricted‑sale stocks—involving multi‑layered nesting, collusive trading, or coordinated arbitrage. Every violation will be investigated and prosecuted, and all market participants are encouraged to jointly monitor compliance with these regulations.

Pooling Efforts from All Sectors, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Promotes Quality and Efficiency Improvements Among Private Enterprises.
On December 27, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange hosted the 13th session of its “Innovation & Sharing Forum,” a special event focused on private listed companies and their core businesses. The forum brought together executives from representative Shenzhen‑listed private offices—including Zhifei Biological, Huazhong CNC, and Beijing Junzheng—along with experts and scholars who have long studied the digital and intelligent transformation of private enterprises to drive high‑quality growth in their core operations, as well as representatives from intermediary institutions. Together, they explored how, under the new circumstances, the capital market can better support the development of private enterprises and effectively enhance the quality of Shenzhen‑listed private companies.
The Central Economic Work Conference emphasized the need to foster the growth and strengthening of private enterprises. The Central Financial Work Conference underscored that the financial sector must deliver high‑quality services to support economic and social development. The concentration of privately owned listed companies is a defining feature of Shenzhen’s multi‑tiered capital market. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange has consistently upheld the principle of “two unwavering commitments,” with the mission of “pooling innovative capital and unleashing growth momentum.” It has earnestly implemented the CSRC’s latest initiatives to enhance the quality of listed companies, making the support of high‑quality, high‑level development among private enterprises a key priority. To this end, it has formulated the “Work Plan on Supporting Privately Owned Listed Companies in Focusing on Their Core Businesses and Achieving Steady Growth,” established a dedicated task force, adopted a goal‑oriented approach, strengthened regulatory oversight and service provision, enhanced coordination and collaboration, leveraged its platform functions, and mobilized the concerted efforts of all stakeholders—providing comprehensive support to help Shenzhen‑listed private enterprises improve quality and efficiency and achieve sound, sustainable development.
Participants agreed that privately owned listed companies are a vital component of the capital market, playing an irreplaceable role in stabilizing growth, fostering innovation, safeguarding employment, and improving people’s livelihoods. They are essential to the healthy, stable development of the capital market and to the sustained, steady progress of the national economy. Under the current circumstances, it is of paramount importance for the capital market to further enhance its capacity to support the high‑quality development of private enterprises. From diverse perspectives, participants shared experiences and case studies on how private offices have leveraged the capital market to focus on their core businesses and achieve breakthroughs in critical, cutting‑edge technologies, while also discussing the challenges they face, their reflections, and their outlooks. They engaged in a collective discussion on common bottlenecks. Through this exchange, the participating companies strengthened their confidence in pursuing core‑business‑oriented strategies, and the exemplary cases and insights presented at the event provided valuable lessons for the further development of private enterprises.

An innovative institutional framework is on the horizon, as the Beijing Stock Exchange embarks on a path of high-quality development.
In 2023, as China’s capital market reforms deepened, the Beijing Stock Exchange saw its market vitality and potential further unleashed. That year, the exchange introduced the “Opinions on High-Quality Development of the Beijing Stock Exchange” (hereinafter referred to as the “19 Measures for Deepening Reform”), which exceeded market expectations. With a series of reform initiatives gradually taking effect, the BSE’s market functions continued to improve, investor attention rose markedly, and its role in supporting the development of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises became increasingly evident.
Looking ahead to 2024, the “Three Coordinations” initiative has charted the development path for the Beijing Stock Exchange, with a series of innovative measures—such as direct IPOs and transfer to other boards—poised to take effect. According to interviewed experts, in the year ahead, the Beijing Stock Exchange will focus on continuously enhancing its market scale, efficiency, functionality, liquidity, and stability. Expanding both the investment and financing sides, refining the investor structure, and further leveraging the market’s role in providing financing support throughout the entire lifecycle of small, medium, and micro enterprises—particularly in their incubation, nurturing, and growth—will likely emerge as key priorities for the exchange’s high‑quality development in the coming year.
The “19 Measures for Deepening Reform” are beginning to yield results.
On September 1, marking the second anniversary of the Beijing Stock Exchange’s establishment, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the “19 Measures for Deepening Reform,” introducing a comprehensive package of reforms across the investment, financing, issuance, trading, and ecosystem fronts, thereby outlining a blueprint for the BSE’s high-quality development. On the issuance side, the threshold requiring “12 months of listing” has been refined, allowing eligible high-quality small and medium-sized enterprises to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) and list; on the trading side, market makers are permitted to use dedicated securities accounts for market-making purposes to participate in strategic allocations; and on the ecosystem front, efforts have been stepped up to align the institutional frameworks of the New Third Board with those of regional equity markets, alongside revisions such as the “No. 7 Guidelines on Ongoing Supervision of Listed Companies of the Beijing Stock Exchange—Transfer Listing.”
It has been nearly four months since the release of the “19 Measures for Deepening Reform.” With a series of reform initiatives taking effect, market participants have responded positively, driving a marked increase in attention toward the Beijing Stock Exchange and a recovery in listed companies’ valuations. Looking at the performance of the BSE 50 Index, since the exchange’s current rally began on October 24, the index has accumulated gains of over 48% as of the close on December 26.
Liu Jing, chief analyst for the Beijing Stock Exchange at SW Securities Research Institute, stated that as more reform measures are implemented, the Beijing Stock Exchange will be developed into a more mature, open, and influential market.
Speaking about the next priorities in the development of the Beijing Stock Exchange, Sun Li, Deputy General Manager of the Exchange, recently stated that the BSE will accelerate the implementation of its initial public offering and listing regime; focus on enhancing the quality of listed companies, guiding enterprises to concentrate on their core businesses and pursue innovative growth; vigorously strengthen investor‑side infrastructure to foster the efficient circulation of innovation capital; reinforce coordination and synergistic development among all stakeholders, thereby cultivating a healthy ecosystem for high‑quality market growth; and continue to deepen interconnectivity across multi‑tiered markets, ensuring smoother pathways for corporate development.
“Over the next three to five years, the Beijing Stock Exchange will focus on continuously enhancing its market size, efficiency, functionality, trading activity, and stability,” noted Zhu Haibin, General Manager of the Beijing Stock Exchange Research Center at Open Source Securities.
Institutional innovation is highly anticipated.
As the Beijing Stock Exchange continues to gain momentum, among the policy measures outlined in the “19 Measures for Deepening Reform” that have yet to be implemented, policies such as direct IPOs and transfer to other boards are drawing significant market attention and anticipation.
Zhu Haibin pointed out that a direct IPO could further enhance the exchange’s market standing and attract more large, high-quality companies that have not yet listed on the New Third Board to list on the Beijing Stock Exchange. “Once this policy is implemented, the pace of expansion at the Beijing Stock Exchange in 2024 will outstrip that of 2023,” Liu Jing predicted.
The implementation of the transfer listing system will strengthen interconnectivity among the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing stock exchanges, fostering a multi-tiered capital market with robust liquidity. Zhu Haibin notes that, once in place, the transfer listing mechanism will grant greater flexibility to companies listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, potentially attracting more high-quality enterprises to its market; at the same time, it will help recalibrate the market’s valuation center, providing support for the recovery of valuations among Beijing Stock Exchange‑listed offices.
As efforts to build the Beijing Stock Exchange to high standards continue to deepen, surveyed experts generally agree that, in implementing the exchange’s innovative institutional frameworks, the Beijing Stock Exchange should strengthen information disclosure requirements, enhance regulatory oversight, and steer the market toward steady development. At the same time, as it leverages the transfer listing mechanism as a “bridge,” it should reinforce coordination with regional equity market reforms to foster healthy competition and synergistic development across different market segments.
The development roadmap for next year is becoming increasingly clear.
As early as the 2023 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference, Zhou Guihua, Chairman of the Beijing Stock Exchange, stated that during the exchange’s development, it would strive to achieve “three coordinated approaches”: strengthening coordination between the investment and financing sides, enhancing integration between the primary and secondary markets, and improving alignment across various product categories.
Expanding both the investment and financing sides is likely to be one of the key priorities for the Beijing Stock Exchange in 2024. According to a research report by Open Source Securities, in terms of investor composition, institutional investors account for 21.79% of shareholdings among companies listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, slightly below the 23.24% recorded on the STAR Market. Among institutional investors, mutual funds hold 6.44% of shares on the STAR Market, compared with just 1.70% on the Beijing Stock Exchange.
The “19 Measures for Deepening Reform” propose stepping up efforts to attract medium- and long-term capital, including social security funds, insurance funds, and pension funds. As of December 26, nearly 900 public mutual funds had entered the Beijing Stock Exchange market, yet this number remains relatively small compared with those listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.
“At present, the Beijing Stock Exchange remains in an expansion phase, actively attracting a broader range of investors,” analyzed Zhu Haibin. He noted that in 2024, the exchange is likely to further broaden its investor base by bringing in more institutional and individual investors, drawing greater amounts of long-term capital into the market, and refining the structure of its investor tiers. Additionally, the exchange plans to expand its roster of market makers, enhance mechanisms such as private‑placement market making, and boost overall market participation and trading activity.
Tian Xuan, Vice Dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Tsinghua University, suggests that the Beijing Stock Exchange could further strengthen investor suitability management by tailoring admission requirements to different investment products, differentiating and structurally optimizing investor categories based on factors such as asset size and investment experience, and, on this basis, steadily advance a pilot program for a T+0 trading mechanism.
As the primary platform for serving innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, the Beijing Stock Exchange must continue to leverage the market’s role in providing financing support throughout the entire lifecycle of SMEs—covering incubation, nurturing, and growth—and steadily enhance the capital market’s capacity to finance these enterprises and its pricing efficiency. Tian Xuan pointed out that, by focusing on the full lifecycle of SMEs, the Beijing Stock Exchange needs to strengthen effective linkages with other market segments, maintain a steady pace of listings, and swiftly establish an appropriately scaled market. At the same time, it should put in place a robust delisting regime to promptly remove companies that no longer meet listing standards, thereby safeguarding the quality and vitality of listed offices.
“In the future, as the Beijing Stock Exchange continues to pursue high-quality development, it is likely to strengthen regulatory oversight and risk management, safeguard investor rights, and ensure the market’s healthy and stable growth,” said Zhu Haibin.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange is implementing concrete measures and pursuing tangible results to promote the high-quality development of listed companies.
Recently, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has held four consecutive roundtable discussions, inviting representatives from companies in the green and low-carbon, advanced manufacturing, and digital economy sectors, as well as newly listed offices following the registration-based reform, to exchange views on industry trends, share distinctive strengths, address common challenges, and articulate their needs and recommendations. This series of forums represents a key initiative by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference and the Central Financial Work Conference, aiming to gain an in-depth understanding of industrial development in priority areas on the Shenzhen market, help enterprises resolve operational and production‑related issues and difficulties, and further promote the high‑quality development of listed companies.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange is home to nearly 300 listed companies in the green and low‑carbon sector, bringing together a cohort of technology‑driven enterprises with core competitiveness and significant market influence. These companies are playing an active role in advancing a cleaner, lower‑carbon, safer, and more efficient new‑energy system. At a symposium on the green and low‑carbon sector, participating offices noted that, in recent years, the industry has entered a period of strategic opportunity, with the competitiveness of the new‑energy value chain steadily strengthening. This has made the sector a key driver of high‑quality economic growth and a major source of development opportunities for businesses. The attendees exchanged views on areas such as technological innovation, investor returns, fostering a healthy ecosystem, sustainable growth, and compliant operations, while also offering suggestions for improving the information‑disclosure framework and enhancing value discovery.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange is home to nearly 500 listed companies in the advanced manufacturing sector, with pronounced clustering trends across high-end equipment, information technology, new energy, and new materials. At a symposium on advanced manufacturing, participating offices emphasized that this sector serves as a key driver of high-quality economic growth, facilitating the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries while shaping the future trajectory of industrial development. The companies agreed that, to stand out in an increasingly competitive market, they must master cutting-edge technologies, leverage technological innovation to secure differentiated advantages and bolster the resilience of their industrial and supply chains; adopt refined management practices to sustain profitability and fuel ongoing growth; and expand into overseas markets to break through developmental constraints.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange is home to more than 400 listed companies in the digital economy sector, bringing together a cohort of technology‑driven enterprises with core competitive strengths in areas such as telecommunications equipment, chip manufacturing, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. At a symposium on the digital economy, participating companies emphasized the importance of proactively seizing new opportunities in digital transformation, advancing innovation in digital technologies, application scenarios, and business models, and shared their experiences and case studies in driving technological breakthroughs, along with insights into the challenges they face, their reflections, and their outlook for the future.
At the symposium for newly listed companies, participating offices stated that going public represents a significant milestone in their development and marks a new starting point, entailing greater responsibilities in ensuring compliant operations, fulfilling social obligations, and safeguarding the interests of small and medium-sized investors. Moving forward, they will leverage the capital markets platform to further strengthen their core businesses, pursue steady and sustainable growth, and actively deliver value to investors. The Central Financial Work Conference emphasized that finance must provide high‑quality services to support economic and social development. Meanwhile, the Central Economic Work Conference underscored the need to focus on key priorities, seize critical opportunities, and carry out economic work in a solid and pragmatic manner, all in pursuit of high‑quality development. In response, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange will earnestly study and implement the spirit of both the Central Economic Work Conference and the Central Financial Work Conference. In accordance with the unified deployment of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, it will carefully analyze the insights gained from the symposium and the opinions and recommendations put forward by the participating companies, so as to better harness the exchange’s role as a platform and hub. By strengthening coordination and synergy with all stakeholders, the Exchange will adopt concrete measures and seek tangible results, employing a multi‑pronged approach to help listed companies enhance their competitiveness and resilience. Through technological innovation, it will drive industrial transformation; through high‑quality regulatory services, it will foster a cohort of high‑quality listed companies, thereby contributing more effectively to the overall goals of economic and social development.

The Beijing Stock Exchange has refined its rules on equity distribution and share repurchases.
To further standardize equity distribution and share repurchase practices among listed companies and to enhance investor returns, the Beijing Stock Exchange (hereinafter referred to as the “BSE”) has formulated the “Beijing Stock Exchange Guidelines on Ongoing Supervision of Listed Companies No. 10—Equity Distribution” (hereinafter referred to as the “Equity Distribution Guidelines”), revised the “Beijing Stock Exchange Guidelines on Ongoing Supervision of Listed Companies No. 4—Share Repurchase” (hereinafter referred to as the “Share Repurchase Guidelines”), and concurrently refined the related business guidance documents. The aforementioned rules shall take effect as of December 22, 2023.
The “Guidelines on Equity Distribution” encourage listed companies to adopt a more proactive dividend policy. On the one hand, companies that generate substantial profits or engage in significant financial investments but fail to meet a prescribed dividend payout ratio are required to provide full disclosure of the underlying reasons, their plans for utilizing retained earnings, and the measures they intend to implement to enhance investor returns. On the other hand, the guidelines streamline the procedures for interim dividend distributions, thereby encouraging companies to increase the frequency of cash dividends.
At the same time, stricter oversight will be imposed on companies with unusually high dividend payout ratios. For offices with elevated debt-to-asset ratios and weak operating cash flows yet maintaining high dividend payouts, we will require full disclosure of the rationale behind their cash dividend plans and an assessment of their impact on the company’s operations and financial performance.
With regard to the specific content that a company’s articles of association must set forth, the “Guidelines on Equity Distribution” require listed companies to clearly stipulate in their articles of association the profit distribution policy and the procedures for adjusting it, thereby stabilizing investor expectations.
In addition, the “Guidelines on Equity Distribution” call for stricter oversight of high‑ratio stock dividends and share transfers. Any distribution or transfer of five or more shares for every ten shares held will be brought under regulatory scrutiny, with such actions linked to factors like earnings growth, the lifting of sale restrictions on previously restricted shares, and share reductions, ensuring that stock dividends and transfers genuinely reflect a listed company’s operating performance and its actual need for capital expansion.
The revision of the Guidelines on Share Repurchases aims to further enhance the inclusiveness and convenience of the repurchase regime, thereby encouraging listed companies to proactively safeguard corporate value and shareholder rights. On the one hand, it seeks to improve the ease of conducting share repurchases by relaxing the conditions under which shares may be repurchased to protect corporate value and shareholder interests, abolishing the prohibition on repurchasing during blackout periods, refining the prohibitive provisions governing repurchase transaction filings, and adjusting the basic requirements for share repurchases by listed companies. On the other hand, it strengthens the mechanisms for overseeing repurchases by clarifying the obligations of the board of directors, encouraging listed companies to establish institutional arrangements for implementing buybacks, and mandating that, when circumstances arise warranting a repurchase to safeguard corporate value and shareholder interests, companies must fully solicit shareholders’ views on whether to proceed with such a repurchase. In addition, the regulatory framework for repurchases has been reinforced: it stipulates that failure to execute a repurchase in accordance with the repurchase report will result in appropriate regulatory measures—tailored to the severity of the situation—being imposed on the listed company and relevant parties, thereby effectively preventing “deceptive” or “window‑dressing” repurchases.
Yu Wei, an expert with the Economic Development Working Committee of the China Association for Building a Moderately Prosperous Society, pointed out that reasonable dividend payouts enable investors to fully share in the benefits of corporate growth. In turn, investors will support companies’ development with real capital, confidence, and patience, thereby fostering a virtuous cycle that benefits enterprises, investors, and the Beijing Stock Exchange market alike.

Commercial & Corporate
Addressing the issues of unbalanced and inadequate development by vigorously promoting the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy.
The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Data Administration recently issued the “Implementation Plan for Promoting Common Prosperity through the Digital Economy” (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementation Plan”), which aims to foster deep integration between digital technologies and the real economy, continuously strengthen, improve, and expand China’s digital economy, leverage digital tools to address imbalances and inadequacies in development, ensure that all people share in the benefits of the digital era, and contribute to achieving common prosperity through high-quality development.
The Implementation Plan explicitly states that the digital economy facilitates the efficient circulation of production factors, promotes the sharing of high-quality resources, and advances the equalization of basic public services, thereby underscoring its pivotal role in advancing common prosperity.
Guo Jianmin, Deputy Director of the Innovation-Driven Development Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that China’s digital economy now ranks second globally and has maintained a pace of growth that consistently leads the world. The continuous emergence of new technologies, industries, business forms, and models in the course of digital‑economy development provides robust support for achieving both qualitative improvements and reasonable quantitative expansion, thereby contributing to high‑quality development and helping to expand the overall economic pie.
Guo Jianmin stated that there are the following advantages:
First, the innovative application of digital technologies helps generate new wealth. High-quality development of the digital economy calls for leveraging the leading role of scientific and technological innovation at a higher level and across a broader scope. By advancing new technologies and developing cutting-edge products, innovative solutions such as advanced semiconductors, operating systems, and artificial intelligence will increasingly integrate into every stage and sector of economic and social development, thereby fostering greater wealth based on a new type of productive forces. For example, generative AI models (AIGC) have accelerated the advancement of artificial intelligence, and domestic digital‑economy enterprises, by swiftly following suit, not only create value for themselves but also spur rapid growth in related fields.
Second, the rapid emergence of digital business models helps generate new wealth. The deep integration of digital technologies with the real economy is giving rise to new industries and business models, driving the continuous expansion of sectors such as e‑commerce, online marketing, and digital entertainment, thereby adding substantial material wealth to economic and social development. For example, China leads the world in both e‑commerce and mobile payments, while markets for ride-hailing, online food delivery, digital culture, and smart tourism are steadily growing.
Third, digital empowerment of transformation and upgrading helps generate new wealth. By promoting the “cloud adoption, data utilization, and intelligence empowerment” of enterprises, we are fostering all‑round, end‑to‑end transformation and upgrading across traditional industries. For example, the integration of digital technologies with manufacturing processes is deepening and becoming more practical, leading to steady improvements in enterprises’ digitalization levels. As of June 2023, the CNC rate for key manufacturing processes and the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools among industrial enterprises reached 60.1% and 78.3%, respectively—up by 35.5 and 29.5 percentage points from 2012.
The Implementation Plan sets clear priorities, focusing on disparities across four key domains—regions, urban–rural areas, population groups, and basic public services—and elaborates targeted measures to leverage the digital economy in advancing common prosperity, while articulating a vision and specific objectives.
Guo Jianmin stated that China’s digital economy exhibits several key characteristics:
First, the digital economy fosters balanced development between eastern and western regions, helping to narrow the regional gap. With its cross‑regional reach, the digital economy can establish convenient communication channels. The Implementation Plan calls for advancing digital infrastructure, promoting the digital transformation of industrial chains, and strengthening inter‑regional cooperation in the digital economy. These measures will accelerate the leveraging of each region’s strengths, enabling the eastern region to provide advanced technological support to the central and western regions as they undergo transformation and upgrading, while also facilitating the entry of products from the central and western regions into eastern markets.
Take the “East‑Data‑West‑Computing” project as an example: by systematically channeling the dense computing demand of eastern regions to the west, it optimizes the spatial layout of data center development, enhances resource utilization efficiency, fosters the agglomeration and growth of digital‑economy industries in the western region, and promotes coordinated collaboration between eastern and western areas. This helps narrow the economic development gap between the two regions in the digital‑economy era and creates favorable opportunities for high‑quality development in the western region.
Second, digital transformation helps bridge the urban–rural divide. The pervasive penetration of digital technologies has led to their widespread adoption in both urban and rural areas, providing the foundational technological support for integrated urban–rural development.
Taking digital rural development as an example, all administrative villages nationwide have now achieved universal broadband access. Leveraging convenient internet connectivity, farmers are accelerating the growth of rural e‑commerce; in the first three quarters of 2023, rural online retail sales reached RMB 1.7 trillion, up 12.2% year on year. In 2022, national online retail sales of agricultural products totaled RMB 531.38 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.2%.
Third, scenario-based applications are helping to narrow the digital divide. China has consistently adhered to a people-centered development philosophy, proactively investing in information infrastructure and accelerating the expansion of digital use cases, thereby enabling diverse groups to access greater opportunities for development. The Implementation Plan calls for strengthening education and training in digital literacy and skills, launching an “Information Accessibility” promotion initiative, and enhancing protections for workers in new forms of employment—measures that provide effective pathways to reduce disparities across population groups. At present, digital platforms have created 84 million flexible‑employment positions, including food‑delivery riders and ride-hailing drivers; among them, over 7 million are food‑delivery riders, with an average monthly income of approximately RMB 4,000–6,000, thus playing a significant role in boosting employment.
Fourth, the provision of universally beneficial outcomes helps bridge the gap in basic public services. Leveraging advances in digital technologies, the level of equitable access to public services has been significantly enhanced. The Implementation Plan calls for promoting the sharing of high-quality digital educational resources, strengthening the capacity of telemedicine services, elevating the digitalization of elderly care, and improving digital social security services. These measures will deliver more inclusive benefits to the public and better meet the growing and evolving demands of the people for public services.
At present, 100% of primary and secondary schools nationwide—including teaching stations—have internet access. Through “5G‑enabled remote classrooms,” students in mountainous areas or on pastoral farms can share high‑quality educational resources from major cities. In addition, more than 1,700 internet hospitals have been approved across the country; leveraging 5G technology, they offer telemedicine and remote surgical services, helping to ensure that all citizens benefit from the digital dividend.
Guo Jianmin also stated that, in recent years, the development of China’s digital economy has strongly propelled transformations in the quality, efficiency, and driving forces of the national economy. By expanding growth channels, accelerating industrial restructuring, and optimizing income distribution, the digital economy has become a key force in advancing common prosperity. Taking the issuance of this Implementation Plan as an opportunity, we should earnestly study, implement, and thoroughly grasp its spirit; strengthen policy coordination and alignment; deepen local pilot initiatives; expedite the establishment of an evaluation mechanism; and intensify efforts to publicize and interpret relevant policies. In vigorously developing the digital economy, we will foster high-quality economic growth, and in steadily advancing common prosperity, ensure that all people share in the fruits of development.

Five departments have jointly issued implementation guidelines to accelerate the development of a nationwide integrated computing power network.
Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and four other departments jointly issued the “Opinions on Deeply Implementing the ‘East Data, West Computing’ Project and Accelerating the Construction of a Nationally Integrated Computing Power Network,” setting out a series of goals, including the preliminary establishment of a comprehensive computing power infrastructure system by the end of 2025.
The implementation guidelines stipulate that by the end of 2025, the newly added computing power in the national hub node regions will account for more than 60% of the nation’s total new computing capacity, and the utilization rate of computing resources at these hubs will significantly exceed the national average. A preliminary mechanism for two-way coordination between computing power and electricity will be established, with green energy accounting for over 80% of the electricity consumed by newly built data centers in the national hub nodes. User accessibility to various computing services will be markedly improved, costs will be substantially reduced, and inter‑hub network transmission fees will be sharply cut. Furthermore, core technologies critical to the computing power network will largely achieve security and reliability.
The implementation guidelines adopt a five‑pronged coordinated approach—integrating general‑purpose computing, intelligent computing, and supercomputing; fostering integrated, collaborative computing across eastern, central, and western regions; promoting the seamless application of computing power with data and algorithms; advancing the synergistic integration of computing power and green energy; and ensuring the coordinated development of computing power alongside robust security safeguards—to drive the construction of a nationwide, unified computing network that features interconnected scheduling, universal accessibility, and green, secure operations.

The Food Security Assurance Law has been adopted, emphasizing the protection of arable land and emergency preparedness.
On December 29, the seventh session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress adopted the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Food Security Assurance.
The Food Security Assurance Law comprises eleven chapters and seventy-four articles, covering such areas as arable land protection, grain production, grain reserves, grain circulation, grain processing, emergency grain management, grain conservation, oversight and administration, and legal liabilities. It stipulates the delineation and implementation of red lines for the protection of arable land and permanent basic farmland, ecological conservation, and urban development boundaries, while ensuring strict protection of arable land; establishes a compensation system for arable land protection and an offset‑for‑land‑occupation mechanism; strengthens capacity-building for emergency food security; and introduces a reporting system for abnormal fluctuations in the grain market. In the event of an emergency situation, it mandates the timely activation of emergency response measures, including policy‑driven grain sales, the release of reserve grain, and the establishment of additional emergency supply outlets.

Three departments have jointly issued the newly revised “Guidance on Enterprise Deregistration.”
On December 29, the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation published the “Announcement on the Issuance of the ‘Guidance on Enterprise Deregistration (Revised in 2023)’.”
The Guidelines focus on the distinctive characteristics of various types of business entities. Building on the existing provisions regarding company deregistration, they extend coverage to non‑corporate legal persons, partnerships, sole proprietorships, specialized farmer cooperatives, and individual industrial and commercial households, thereby providing more precise and tailored guidance for each category. In response to frequent inquiries and concerns from businesses and the public, the Guidelines further specify the composition, appointment procedures, and duties of liquidation committees; set out requirements for publishing liquidation committee information and creditor notices; and clarify the procedures for both standard and simplified deregistration. Moreover, the Guidelines explicitly define enterprises’ liquidation obligations, reinforce their principal responsibility, and promote a healthy, orderly, and risk‑controlled exit process.

The Measures for the Administration of the Express Delivery Market Are Set for Revision, Strengthening the Security Management of Waybill Information.
On January 4, the Ministry of Transport published the Measures for the Administration of the Express Delivery Market on its website.
The Measures comprise nine chapters and fifty-seven articles, with a focus on refining institutional arrangements for development safeguards, emphasizing the principle of green development, reinforcing the unified management responsibilities of headquarters enterprises, strengthening regulation of express delivery service practices, improving provisions on work safety and emergency management, tightening requirements for market order management, and strictly regulating the management of express waybills and their associated codes. The Measures explicitly stipulate that enterprises engaged in express delivery operations must establish management systems and operational procedures covering the creation, use, storage, and destruction of express waybills (including electronic waybills), adopt security measures such as encryption and de-identification to protect the information security of express waybills, and set up management systems for the use and destruction of express waybill codes.

Four departments have clarified: actively yet prudently advance innovation in the EOD model.
Recently, the General Offices of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Development and Reform Commission, the People’s Bank of China, and the National Administration of Financial Regulation jointly issued the “Implementation Guidelines for Eco-environment-Oriented Development (EOD) Projects (Trial)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementation Guidelines”). The guidelines stipulate that innovative EOD models should be advanced in a proactive yet prudent manner, leveraging market-based mechanisms—while adhering to laws and regulations—to broaden investment channels for ecological and environmental protection and to promote the realization of the value of ecological products.
The Implementation Guidelines state that the EOD model, through industrial chain extension, integrated development, and joint operations, effectively integrates ecologically‑oriented environmental governance—characterized by strong public benefits—with complementary industries that generate higher returns. This approach enables value‑adding feedback loops, coordinated advancement, market‑based management, holistic implementation, and sustainable operation. By enhancing the economic returns of related industries through environmental governance, and by reinvesting the resulting industrial value‑added into environmental protection, the EOD model innovatively internalizes the external economic benefits of ecological and environmental management. It represents a practical application of the principle that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,” and helps to advance the commercialization and development of ecological products in a proactive yet prudent manner, thereby facilitating the effective realization of their value.
According to available information, the EOD model has relatively stringent eligibility criteria. Projects under this framework typically address urgent public‑interest environmental challenges that deliver significant ecological and environmental benefits, while requiring close coordination and deep integration between environmental governance and industrial development—ultimately aiming to achieve financial self‑sustainability without relying on government funding.
The Implementation Guidelines are divided into five sections—“Project Planning,” “Scheme Design,” “Stakeholder Identification,” “Project Execution,” and “Evaluation and Oversight”—providing guidance and standardization for each stage of projects adopting the EOD model. The EOD model is guided by the government, with participation from enterprises and all sectors of society, and operates on a market‑based approach. Relevant government departments serve as the project’s organizing entities, offering services and technical guidance. Under the principles of independent decision‑making and self‑responsibility for profits and losses, these entities are tasked with implementing, operating, and managing the project, while assuming corresponding responsibilities for ecological and environmental governance in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, standards, and agreed‑upon requirements. Through close collaboration between government and the market under the EOD framework, a balanced integration of ecological and environmental protection with socio‑economic development has been achieved in the new era.

Ten departments have issued guidelines to elevate the development of the processing trade.
Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and nine other departments jointly issued the “Opinions on Raising the Level of Development of Processing Trade.” This follows the 2016 “Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting Innovative Development of Processing Trade,” marking another key policy document guiding the development of processing trade.
The opinions put forward 12 policy measures across six areas. First, to encourage the development of processing trade in high‑value‑added products, one measure is proposed: supporting the growth of processing trade in advanced manufacturing and strategic emerging industries, and encouraging processing‑trade enterprises to fully and effectively utilize the preferential policy of pre‑tax additional deductions for R&D expenses. Second, to promote the development of bonded maintenance services, two measures are proposed: fostering the expansion of bonded maintenance activities in comprehensive bonded zones and free trade pilot zones, and advancing pilot programs for bonded maintenance in other regions. Third, to guide and support the orderly transfer of processing‑trade capacity, three measures are proposed: strengthening the infrastructure for such transfers, improving the coordination and cooperation mechanisms for aligning processing‑trade relocation, and increasing support for border areas. Fourth, to enhance fiscal, tax, and financial support, two measures are proposed: making coordinated use of existing funding channels, including special funds for foreign economic and trade development, and implementing relevant tax incentives; as well as bolstering credit support and export‑credit insurance coverage for processing‑trade enterprises to better meet their needs for exchange‑rate risk management and cross‑border RMB settlement. Fifth, to reinforce the保障 of key production factors, two measures are proposed: strengthening transportation, logistics, and energy‑supply guarantees, and addressing multi‑level labor‑demand requirements. Sixth, to optimize the management and services related to processing trade, two measures are proposed: supporting the expansion into domestic markets and promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade; and, when appropriate, revising downward the list of prohibited items under processing trade, further refining relevant policies, and innovating customs‑supervision mechanisms.
An official from the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce stated that processing trade is an important component of China’s open economy and foreign trade, continuing to serve as a major driver of export growth in the central and western regions as well as the Northeast, while also playing a crucial role in stabilizing foreign trade, attracting foreign investment, and safeguarding industrial and supply chains.

Registration for the Fifth National Economic Census Has Begun
On January 1, 2024, the fifth national economic census officially commenced. Across the country, 2.1 million enumerators and census supervisors will conduct in-depth fieldwork at enterprises and businesses, canvassing streets and alleys, and over nearly four months will collect and record data from 1.16 million census enumeration areas.
Kang Yi, Deputy Head of the State Council’s Leading Group for the Fifth National Economic Census and Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that conducting this census—by comprehensively ascertaining the state of China’s economic development, tracking changes in the overall size and structure of the economy over the past five years, and shedding light on the deep-seated contradictions and challenges confronting current economic growth—will facilitate the adoption of more targeted and effective policies and measures. This endeavor is of great significance for consolidating and strengthening the momentum of economic recovery and improvement, promoting high-quality development, and advancing the cause of Chinese modernization.
Full coverage of the secondary and tertiary industries
The economic census is a major survey of the country’s conditions and national strength, forming, together with the population census and the agricultural census, one of the three major periodic nationwide census programs. It provides a comprehensive assessment of the scale, structure, and performance of China’s secondary and tertiary industries. Prior to the Fifth National Economic Census, China had already conducted four national economic censuses in 2004, 2008, 2013, and 2018.
According to the Regulations on the National Economic Census, the economic census is conducted every five years, taking place in years ending in 3 and 8. For this round, the reference date for the Fifth National Economic Census is December 31, 2023, and the data cover the year 2023. On December 8, 2023, Kang Yi stated at the launch ceremonies for the Fifth National Economic Census Publicity Month—both at the national level and in Beijing—that on-site registration for the Fifth National Economic Census will officially commence on January 1, 2024.
According to the official website of China’s Economic Census, 2022 was the preparatory phase, primarily involving the formulation of the overall conceptual framework, the development of the census plan, the conduct of specialized pilot projects, and the deployment of input–output surveys. 2023 marked the preparation stage, focusing on establishing census institutions at all levels, carrying out comprehensive pilot programs, refining and finalizing the census plan, developing and deploying census software, recruiting and training census personnel, and conducting a preliminary enumeration of economic entities. 2024 was the implementation phase, during which census registration was conducted, post‑census data quality checks were organized, and the main census results were reviewed, compiled, and released. From 2025 to 2026, the focus shifted to the utilization and application of census data, with activities including the establishment of a census database, the compilation and publication of census materials, and the undertaking of research and analytical studies.
According to reports, the subjects of the Fifth National Economic Census include all legal entities, industrial activity units, and individually operated businesses engaged in the secondary and tertiary sectors within China. Specifically, the scope encompasses not only various industries such as mining, manufacturing, and the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas, and water, as well as the construction sector, but also a wide range of service industries, including wholesale and retail trade, and accommodation and catering—covering a total of 19 major categories and 92 subcategories.
In addition, the main contents of this census include the basic characteristics of the surveyed entities, their organizational structure, employee wages, production capacity, financial status, production and operations, energy production and consumption, research and development activities, information technology development, e‑commerce transactions, as well as the composition of investment inputs, the end‑use of products, and the breakdown of fixed asset investment.
Conducting the first integrated input–output survey
Compared with previous censuses, the most significant change in this round is the first-ever integrated implementation of an input–output survey. According to reports, the input–output survey is a large-scale statistical operation designed to systematically capture the economic linkages among sectors of the national economy. Conducted every five years, it takes place in years ending in 2 or 7 and has been carried out seven times to date. The survey primarily focuses on the structure of inputs and the composition of fixed‑asset investment for key legal entities across all sectors of the national economy.
Analyses suggest that, although the economic census and the input–output survey serve different purposes, their organizational processes are similar, and there is overlap in terms of survey respondents and content. Conducting these surveys consecutively in adjacent years would place an additional burden on local authorities and hinder the coordinated use of the resulting data.
In 2023, China conducted, for the first time, a coordinated nationwide economic census and input–output survey. According to relevant officials, by carrying out these two surveys simultaneously—standardizing the survey year, design, organization, and data collection and reporting—this approach not only avoids conducting large-scale surveys in consecutive years, streamlines survey items, and reduces the overall burden on grassroots-level entities, but also ensures seamless integration between the aggregate data of the economic census and the structural data from the input–output survey. This initiative represents an important step in advancing the modernization of statistical practices.
It is worth noting that the Fifth National Economic Census will also leverage information technology to enhance the efficiency of data processing, including fully supporting various data‑collection methods such as online reporting, on-site data collection, self‑reporting, and departmental submissions; for the first time, it will employ mini‑programs to collect data, thereby improving convenience; and it will upgrade industry‑specific intelligent coding software, utilizing technologies such as scanning QR codes on electronic and paper business licenses and optical character recognition (OCR).
“Comprehensive Health Checkup” and “Centralized Inventory Count”
“The Fifth National Economic Census is a comprehensive ‘health check’ and an intensive ‘inventory’ of the national economy conducted following the successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,” Kang Yi pointed out. He emphasized that carrying out this census—by thoroughly mapping China’s economic development, tracking changes in the overall size and structure of the economy over the past five years, and shedding light on the deep‑seated contradictions and challenges confronting current economic growth—will help inform the adoption of more targeted and effective policies and measures. This, in turn, will be of great significance for consolidating and strengthening the momentum of economic recovery and improvement, advancing high-quality development, and furthering the cause of Chinese modernization.
“2023 was the critical preparatory phase for the census. To concentrate our efforts and complete, within a relatively short timeframe in 2024, the on-site registration of tens of millions of census units nationwide, in accordance with the census plan, we mobilized approximately 2.1 million census supervisors and enumerators across the country to vigorously advance tasks such as census district delineation and mapping, comprehensive door-to-door enumeration, verification of any gaps or omissions, and data review and acceptance. As a result, we have fully completed the unit enumeration, compiled a unified and comprehensive census roster, and laid a solid foundation for the smooth implementation of census registration,” said Kang Yi.
Taking Beijing as an example, starting January 1, 2024, more than 30,000 census supervisors and enumerators across the city will once again conduct fieldwork in office buildings and industrial parks, visiting enterprises and business establishments. Over a period of just over four months, they will rigorously implement the census plan, employing methods such as household visits by census takers, self‑reporting by respondents, and departmental coordination to carry out formal registration of all legal entities, industrial activity units, and individual business households engaged in secondary and tertiary sector activities throughout the city, thereby collecting truthful, accurate, and comprehensive census data.
Kang Yi stated that the quality of census data is the most fundamental criterion for assessing the success or failure of a census. To ensure the quality of census registration data, he outlined three key requirements: first, to prevent human interference and standardize data collection—through a combination of methods such as household visits, self‑reporting, and departmental submissions—and to strengthen training and guidance so as to enhance the professional competence and survey skills of census staff; second, to conduct rigorous review and inspection, including post‑census quality spot checks—such as “collect and review immediately”—and to employ big‑data tools and a variety of analytical techniques for verification and validation; and third, to uphold strict adherence to census laws and regulations and resolutely prevent any falsification or manipulation of census data.
According to the Regulations on the National Economic Census, economic census agencies at all levels and their staff members shall, in accordance with the law, fulfill their obligation of confidentiality with respect to state secrets and the commercial secrets and personal information of economic census respondents that they become aware of during the course of the census. Furthermore, data collected from enterprises and individuals in the economic census may be used solely for the purposes of the census and shall not serve as the basis for imposing any penalties on census respondents by any entity. However, any enterprise, institution, or other organization that refuses or obstructs lawful investigations conducted by economic census agencies or census personnel; provides false or incomplete census data; or fails to submit census‑related materials on time and continues to do so despite repeated requests for submission, shall be subject to a maximum fine of RMB 200,000. In addition, if the directly responsible principal officers or other persons directly liable are state functionaries, they shall be disciplined in accordance with the law.

The Minister of Finance has made a major statement, calling for the refinement of differentiated fiscal and tax policies to promote balanced regional development.
According to a January 4 announcement on the Ministry of Finance’s website, Minister of Finance Lan Fo’an provided an analysis of the current economic and fiscal situation.
Lan Fo’an stated that a proactive fiscal policy will be moderately strengthened and made more effective, which sets the overarching tone for 2024 fiscal policy as determined by the CPC Central Committee. With regard to “moderately strengthening” the policy, this entails optimizing and adjusting tax and fee measures to enhance their precision and relevance. Balancing the needs of macroeconomic regulation, fiscal sustainability, and tax‑system reform, the policy will ensure the effective implementation of structural tax and fee reductions, with a particular focus on supporting technological innovation and the development of the manufacturing sector.
Going forward, fiscal policy will focus on upgrading household consumption and further explore tax and fiscal measures to encourage and guide consumer spending. It will effectively implement tax incentives such as the enhanced deduction for R&D expenses to bolster corporate competitiveness. Moreover, it will refine differentiated fiscal and tax policies to facilitate the implementation of major regional strategies and strategies for balanced and coordinated regional development, thereby enhancing the balance and coherence of regional growth.

The National Intellectual Property Administration plans to revise the Regulations on National Defense Patents.
On January 3, the website of the National Intellectual Property Administration published the “Notice on Soliciting Public Comments on the Draft Amendment to the Regulations on National Defense Patents,” with the deadline for submitting feedback set for January 31, 2024.
The Regulations comprise six chapters and 48 articles. This revision adds one new chapter, introduces 16 additional articles, deletes four, and amends 22, covering such matters as the confidentiality of national defense patents, the application, examination, and grant of national defense patents, the implementation of national defense patents, and their administration and protection. The Regulations confer upon the entity that completed the invention the rights to file a national defense patent application, to implement it, and to derive any resulting benefits. With respect to benefit distribution, they explicitly require the completing entity to provide rewards and incentives to the inventor. In terms of recognition and awards, the Regulations stipulate that both the holder of a national defense patent and the inventor shall be recognized and rewarded. They further clarify that national defense inventions and creations must be patented as national defense patents. In cases where halting the implementation of a national defense patent could significantly impact national defense development, the Regulations provide for an alternative approach: the infringer may continue implementation while paying reasonable compensation to the national defense patent holder. Additionally, a dedicated chapter on “Confidentiality of National Defense Patents” has been established, detailing procedures for classifying and declassifying national defense patents, specifying the authority responsible for determining classification levels in patent applications, and instituting a review mechanism for assessing the classification levels of national defense patents.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development plans to issue the “Administrative Measures for Technical Services in the Fire Safety Design Review and Acceptance of Construction Projects.”
On January 3, the website of the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development published the “Notice on Public Solicitation of Comments on the Draft Measures for the Administration of Technical Services for Fire Safety Design Review and Acceptance of Construction Projects,” with the deadline for submitting feedback set for February 3, 2024.
The Measures comprise six chapters and thirty-six articles, covering aspects such as qualification requirements for practitioners, service standards, supervisory management, and legal liabilities. The Measures stipulate that if a fire‑inspection technical service provider engages in fire‑inspection technical services without meeting the required qualifications, or violates Paragraph 4 of Article 18 of these Measures, the competent fire‑inspection authority shall order it to make corrections within a specified time limit, issue a warning or public criticism, and impose a fine of no less than RMB 50,000 but no more than RMB 100,000. If a fire‑inspection technical service provider issues false or inaccurate opinions or reports, the competent fire‑inspection authority shall order it to make corrections within a specified time limit, issue a warning or public criticism, and impose a fine of no less than RMB 50,000 but no more than RMB 100,000; where harm results, a fine of no less than RMB 100,000 but no more than RMB 200,000 shall be imposed. In addition, the legal representative, the technical director, the project leader, and other persons bearing relevant responsibility shall each be subject to a fine of no less than RMB 10,000 but no more than RMB 50,000.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has made 31 amendments to the Charity Law.
On December 29, the Seventh Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress adopted the Decision on Amending the Charity Law of the People’s Republic of China.
The Charity Law has introduced a dedicated chapter on emergency charity, which is coordinated and aligned with the draft Emergency Response Management Law currently under deliberation, thereby ensuring rigorous management of funds and materials raised in emergency situations. It also refines regulations governing online charitable activities, adds provisions requiring compliance with statutory procedures for accepting overseas donations and engaging in cooperation with foreign organizations or individuals, and systematically improves the charitable trust regime by clarifying that both charitable trust assets and other property used for charitable purposes are deemed charitable assets. Furthermore, it stipulates that settlors may not designate their interested parties as beneficiaries and introduces specific provisions granting tax incentives to those who establish charitable trusts in accordance with the law, among other measures.
Taxation
The State Taxation Administration and the General Administration of Customs have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on “Promoting Data Sharing and Deepening Collaborative Governance.”
Hu Jinglin, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director-General of the State Taxation Administration, and Yu Jianhua, Secretary of the Party Committee and Commissioner-General of the General Administration of Customs, signed in Beijing a Memorandum of Cooperation on “Promoting Data Sharing and Deepening Collaborative Governance,” thereby deepening and expanding pragmatic cooperation between the two agencies in the field of data sharing, further enhancing the efficiency of tax and customs administrative services and collaborative governance, jointly fostering a market‑oriented, law‑based, and internationally competitive business environment, and supporting high‑level opening-up and high‑quality development. Chen Qiufa, Head of the 17th Central Guidance Group for the Party‑wide Study‑Education Campaign, attended the event.
The signing of this memorandum of cooperation represents an important step taken by the two departments as they deepen their efforts in thematic education, earnestly implement the CPC Central Committee and the State Council’s directives on strengthening digital government development, further refine their regularized cooperation mechanisms, and reinforce the mutual empowerment of data and inter‑departmental collaborative governance. It is a concrete measure to leverage inter‑agency coordination in translating the outcomes of thematic education into tangible results that drive high‑quality development, and it will play a positive role in optimizing government services and supporting broader opening-up.
Under the Memorandum of Cooperation, the State Taxation Administration and the General Administration of Customs will each establish working groups, institute a joint‑meeting mechanism and a system of routine communication, and progressively advance the sharing of 34 categories of data in a step‑by‑step manner. The tax and customs authorities will closely monitor the needs of market entities and, leveraging information systems such as the Electronic Tax Bureau and the International Trade “Single Window,” deepen the application of shared data to enhance public services—such as continuously promoting contactless processing of export tax rebates and eliminating the need for manual form‑filling in export tax rebate procedures—and accelerating the implementation of paperless measures for the clearance of returned goods. At the same time, the State Taxation Administration and the General Administration of Customs will also encourage local tax and customs authorities to establish regular mechanisms for communication and cooperation, tailor deeper collaboration to local conditions, and make new and greater contributions to serving the broader national development agenda.
Yao Laiying, a member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director-General of the State Taxation Administration, presided over the signing ceremony. Relevant officials from the 17th Central Touring Guidance Group for the thematic education campaign, along with SAT leaders Rao Lixin and Cai Zili, and GAC leaders Lü Weihong and Zhao Zenglian, attended the event, together with principal officials from the thematic education offices and relevant departments of both agencies.

Tax and fee “benefits” are substantial, helping market entities get off to a strong start.
Tax and fee reductions are a crucial measure for stabilizing businesses, safeguarding employment, and supporting market entities in overcoming difficulties and achieving sustainable development; they also constitute an important component of strengthening and enhancing the effectiveness of proactive fiscal policy.
According to data recently released by the State Taxation Administration, from January to November 2023, nationwide tax and fee reductions, refunds, and deferrals totaled RMB 1.812509 trillion, effectively boosting the vitality of market entities and strengthening the momentum for innovation-driven development.
At the start of the new year, in Hunan, bolstered by tax incentives, businesses are racing to secure orders, ramp up production, and expand their sales channels, creating a bustling and vibrant scene.
In Shimen County, Changde City, inside the workshop of a high-tech enterprise specializing in the production of diaphragms, voice coils, and speaker components, equipment for cutting, shaping, gluing, laminating, and outer-diameter punching is running at full speed. Workers are diligently completing each step of the process, racing to meet the production schedule and ensuring the timely delivery—before the Spring Festival—of an order for more than 30 million diaphragms.
Over the past three years, the company has invested 20 million yuan in R&D to develop and manufacture new products, including voice coils and diaphragms, as well as related equipment. Its latest voice‑coil product has successfully completed trial production and is now ready for mass production and delivery. According to Li Jiuquan, the company’s head, its diaphragm orders in January 2024 increased by 20% year over year, with projected output value exceeding 6 million yuan, signaling a promising outlook for the new year.
Behind the order book’s strong start lies continuous product innovation and upgrading, as well as the support of tax‑cut and fee‑reduction policies. “In particular, over the past three years, we have benefited from a research‑and‑development expense super‑deduction totaling more than RMB 2 million, providing the strongest impetus for the innovative R&D of new projects,” said Li Jiuquan.
In recent years, as the benefits of tax and fee reductions have been steadily realized, the positive effects of preferential policies—boosting business confidence and invigorating market dynamism—have gradually come to the fore. In Hunan Province, the tax authorities have closely monitored the development of enterprises, organizing tax‑and‑fee service teams to adopt a “policy‑to‑people” approach. By gaining an in-depth understanding of companies’ production, operations, and innovation, they provide services that include on‑site research and visits, tailored policy measures, and timely feedback, helping businesses get off to a strong start.
At a packaging‑product manufacturer in Hunan, newly produced items are neatly arranged in the workshop, ready to be shipped across the country. Drawing on the company’s current business conditions, tax officials briefed the enterprise’s finance team and General Manager Zhao Hui on key tax incentives, including the “additional deduction for advanced manufacturing,” the “VAT credit refund,” and employment support measures for priority groups. They also distributed a “Personalized Policy Guide” to help the company confidently focus on production and sales while promptly benefiting from these policies.
“At the turn of the year, our company is steadily signing sales cooperation agreements with several well-known domestic liquor and pharmaceutical offices, and we expect fixed sales revenue to grow by tens of millions of yuan in 2024. Now, with the tax authorities’ generous tax‑benefit package, our momentum is stronger and our confidence even greater,” said Zhao Hui.
In Hengyang, Hunan Province, an electronics technology company has experienced firsthand the efficiency of tax and fee services and the strong support of favorable tax policies since it began its return-to-hometown entrepreneurial journey. The company has now completed and put into operation four finished‑product assembly lines for DC brushless fans, achieving an output value of RMB 150 million in 2023.
“The remarkable achievements of our return‑to‑hometown entrepreneurship owe much to a favorable business environment, which serves as fertile ground, and to the thoughtful tax and fee services we’ve received,” said He Bin, the company’s general manager. Since commencing production, the company has enjoyed robust sales and strong output, with demand outstripping supply. “In the new year, we plan to acquire an additional 60 mu of land to build a new factory, expanding our production capacity to better meet market needs,” He added. With the support of favorable tax policies, the company is confident in further developing a complete industrial chain within the electronics sub‑sector.
“In the new year, the tax authorities will continue to carry out the ‘Go to the Grassroots, Identify Problems, Find Solutions, and Promote Development’ campaign, stepping up efforts in policy implementation, refined service delivery, management optimization, and risk prevention and control. With a more pragmatic approach and higher‑quality services, we will help enterprises expand production capacity, improve quality, and boost efficiency, thereby achieving high‑quality development in the year ahead,” said Zeng Guanghui, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Hunan Provincial Tax Service Bureau.

Five departments have issued a document concerning the import tax policies for free trade zones and free trade ports.
The Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration, and three other departments have jointly issued the “Notice on Piloting Certain Import Tax Policies and Measures in Eligible Free Trade Pilot Zones and Free Trade Ports,” which will take effect as of December 27, 2023.
The Notice clarifies provisions pertaining to three categories: aircraft and vessels (including related spare parts) temporarily exported for repair, temporarily imported for repair, and temporarily imported goods. Specifically, for such items operated by enterprises registered in the Hainan Free Trade Port and possessing independent legal person status, if they are temporarily exported for repair and subsequently re‑imported into the Hainan Free Trade Port, no customs duties shall be levied—regardless of whether value has been added—and import‑stage value‑added tax and consumption tax shall be collected in accordance with applicable regulations. Furthermore, for designated goods temporarily imported from abroad into the Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Fujian, and Beijing free trade zones, as well as the Hainan Free Trade Port, if the taxpayer deposits with customs a security deposit equivalent to the payable duties or provides other forms of guarantee at the time of entry, customs duties, import‑stage value‑added tax, and consumption tax may be deferred.

Litigation & Arbitration
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has issued a work guideline to deepen and expand public-interest litigation by the procuratorial organs in safeguarding women’s rights.
On January 4, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate’s website reported that its Eighth Procuratorial Office recently issued the “Notice on Further Deepening and Expanding Public Interest Litigation Work to Protect Women’s Rights,” providing further guidance to local authorities in advancing and broadening such efforts.
The “Work Guidance” emphasizes that safeguarding women’s rights and interests should be designated as a key, newly added statutory area, with the scope of case handling to be gradually expanded. It specifies that priority oversight shall be directed toward unlawful acts that seriously infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of a large number of women, thereby harming public interests, including but not limited to: strengthening the protection of women’s equal employment rights; enhancing the protection of women’s personal dignity and related rights; reinforcing special labor protections for female workers; ensuring the effective implementation of systems and mechanisms addressing domestic violence; and bolstering the protection of the rights and interests of vulnerable or disadvantaged groups of women, such as women with disabilities, elderly women, and rural women. At the same time, the “Work Guidance” calls for intensified oversight in other areas closely linked to the rights and interests of large numbers of women.

Supreme People’s Procuratorate: Strictly crack down on securities-related crimes in accordance with the law and resolutely punish financial corruption.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate has issued the “Opinions of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Fully Leveraging the Functions and Roles of the Procuratorial Organs to Provide Law-Based Services and Guarantees for High-Quality Financial Development” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”). The Opinions stipulate that procuratorial functions shall be performed with high quality and efficiency, with lawful punishment and prevention of financial crimes and illegal activities; that the institutional mechanisms for punishing and preventing such offenses shall be improved to help avert and defuse financial risks; and that a combination of criminal prosecution and governance should be upheld to optimize the financial ecosystem.
The Opinions stipulate that crimes that seriously endanger financial security shall be punished strictly in accordance with the law. A high-pressure stance will be maintained against mass‑involved financial crimes such as illegal acceptance of public deposits, fundraising fraud, and organizing or leading pyramid schemes, while efforts to prosecute illegal fundraising offenses in areas including pseudo‑private equity, fake gold exchanges, elderly‑care services, private equity funds, virtual currencies, and pre‑sale cards will be continuously intensified. Crimes involving the fraudulent acquisition of funds from financial institutions—such as obtaining loans by deception and financial fraud—will be prosecuted in accordance with the law, with enhanced penalties for actual controllers, major shareholders, and insiders who illegally siphon off institutional funds. In coordination with relevant authorities, credit risks in key sectors such as real estate will be properly addressed and resolved, and risks at small and medium‑sized financial institutions will be handled promptly and in accordance with the law. Prosecution of money‑laundering offenses will be consistently strengthened, with lawful punishment meted out to underground banks, illegal payment and settlement activities, and illicit foreign‑exchange trading and other unlawful business operations. A whole‑chain prosecution mindset will be fostered, with increased efforts to hold accountable those involved in the financial‑crime chain—whether they are financiers, technologists, intermediaries, or other related parties.
The Opinions propose to crack down rigorously on securities‑related crimes in accordance with the law. This includes severely prosecuting financial fraud offenses such as fraudulent issuance and unlawful disclosure by listed companies, pursuing, across the entire criminal chain, related offenses like misappropriation of funds, embezzlement, and breach of trust that harm the interests of listed companies, and thereby supporting and safeguarding the stock‑issuance registration system centered on information disclosure. It also calls for strict punishment of serious crimes that undermine the order of capital‑market trading, including insider trading, market manipulation, and trading based on nonpublic information. Furthermore, it seeks to strengthen accountability for illegal and criminal conduct by key personnel—such as those at financial institutions, controlling shareholders of listed companies, actual controllers, directors, supervisors, and senior management. Penalties will be imposed more strictly on third‑party intermediaries involved in crimes related to false certification documents, thereby reinforcing their professional gatekeeping responsibilities. Finally, criminal cases involving the delisting of listed companies will be handled prudently and in accordance with the law, so as to maximize the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of all concerned parties.
The Opinions stipulate that financial corruption crimes must be resolutely punished. A high-pressure anti-corruption stance in the financial sector will be maintained, with efforts to combat emerging and hidden forms of corruption. The principle of investigating both bribe-takers and bribe-givers will be upheld, and measures to punish financial corruption and prevent financial risks will be advanced in a coordinated manner. Serious penalties will be imposed on embezzlement and bribery offenses committed in areas such as supervision, management, and approval—through the transfer of benefits and exchanges of power for money—as well as on dereliction of duty and abuse of authority by staff members of financial regulatory agencies. Moreover, the crackdown on official misconduct—including theft by those entrusted with custody and collusion between insiders and illicit actors—among financial regulators and senior executives of state-owned financial institutions will be intensified.
The Opinions also call for intensifying efforts to recover stolen assets and mitigate losses in financial crime cases. Adhering to the principle of “recovering all that should be recovered,” substantial measures will be taken to ensure effective asset recovery and loss mitigation, with strengthened coordination among relevant departments and enhanced scrutiny and disposition of assets involved in such cases. Oversight of the seizure, impoundment, and freezing of涉案财物 will be reinforced, the public prosecution’s responsibilities for handling涉案财物 will be improved, and careful examination of factual evidence related to涉案财物 will be prioritized. Emphasis will be placed on formulating sentencing recommendations for fines and confiscation of property, actively applying systems such as leniency for guilty pleas and acceptance of punishment, and encouraging and guiding those involved to voluntarily return illicit gains and make restitution. A comprehensive array of tools—including sanctions for dishonesty, administrative penalties, and civil litigation—will be employed to compel accomplices in illegal fundraising schemes to repay funds within prescribed time limits. Mechanisms will be refined to facilitate the early disposal of assets prone to devaluation or damage and to ensure the continued lawful operation of assets that can be commercially exploited, with the aim of maximizing the efficiency of asset disposal and preserving and enhancing asset value to the greatest extent possible. Furthermore, a sound system will be established to enable procuratorial organs to support special representative lawsuits in securities disputes, thereby safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of investors.

The Beijing Higher People’s Court has adjusted the jurisdiction over certain foreign-related cases in Beijing’s courts.
On January 2, the official WeChat account of the Beijing Higher People’s Court issued a notice adjusting jurisdiction over certain foreign-related cases in Beijing, thereby enhancing the quality and efficiency of foreign-related adjudication at Beijing’s courts.
The notice clarifies that basic-level people’s courts have jurisdiction over first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases. The Fourth Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing exercises centralized jurisdiction over the following first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases that would otherwise fall under the jurisdiction of the city’s intermediate people’s courts: (1) foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a subject matter value of RMB 40 million or more (inclusive); (2) foreign-related civil and commercial cases involving complex facts or a large number of parties on one side; (3) other foreign-related civil and commercial cases that have a significant impact within the city; and (4) where laws or judicial interpretations provide otherwise regarding the jurisdiction of intermediate people’s courts over first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases, such cases shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions. The Higher People’s Court of the city has jurisdiction over first-instance foreign-related civil and commercial cases with a subject matter value of RMB 5 billion or more (inclusive), or other such cases that have a significant impact within the court’s jurisdiction. With respect to preservation and enforcement matters arising from foreign-related arbitration, as well as first-instance foreign-related administrative cases under the jurisdiction of Beijing’s courts, centralized jurisdiction is vested in the Fourth Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing.

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