JC Master Legal News Issue 1082

Key Takeaways for This Issue

The National Administration of Financial Regulation has issued the Measures for the Administration of Insurance Sales Practices.
To safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of policyholders, insured persons, and beneficiaries, to standardize insurance sales practices, and to unify regulatory requirements for such practices, in accordance with the Insurance Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Strengthening the Protection of Financial Consumers’ Rights and Interests, and other relevant laws and documents, the National Administration of Financial Regulation recently issued the Measures for the Administration of Insurance Sales Practices, which will take effect on March 1, 2024.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have launched the “Sailing Plan” to promote employment and entrepreneurship among specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
To further support the sound development of specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, create more high-quality jobs, and help more key groups secure employment, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued a notice to launch and implement the “Sailing Plan” for employment and entrepreneurship among such SMEs.
The Ministry of Justice has released guiding cases on legal aid work.
The Ministry of Justice has released model cases on legal aid, showcasing the positive outcomes of legal aid in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the public in accordance with the law. At the same time, these cases provide replicable, scalable, and instructive best practices for legal aid practitioners, thereby promoting the standardized development of legal aid services.
Typical Cases of Jiangsu Courts Supporting the High-Quality Development of the Private Economy
To further leverage the exemplary and guiding role of typical cases, the Jiangsu Provincial Higher People’s Court has released a batch of model cases from courts across the province that support the high-quality development of the private sector.
Finance & Capital Markets
Affecting thousands of institutions! The Measures for Evaluating Asset Valuation Agencies have been revised: agencies’ ratings will be reassessed every three years, and those failing to meet the standards will face direct downgrading.
The Measures for the Evaluation of Asset Valuation Agencies are set to be revised.
To meet the new requirements of the asset appraisal industry, objectively assess the professional competence, risk‑management capabilities, and ethical standards of asset appraisal offices, advance the development of a credit‑based system for the industry, enhance its influence, and promote high‑quality growth, the China Association of Asset Appraisers (hereinafter referred to as CAAA) has revised the “Measures for the Comprehensive Evaluation of Asset Appraisal Offices” (CAAA [2016] No. 7), resulting in the “Measures for the Comprehensive Evaluation of Asset Appraisal Offices (Draft for Public Comment)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”). The CAAA recently launched a public consultation open to the entire market, with the deadline set for October 15.
This time, revisions have been made to multiple regions. The evaluation will yield two outcomes: a rating of asset appraisal institutions and a ranking based on revenue, with the highest rating being AAAAA. Asset appraisal institutions are re‑rated every three years, and the list of the top 100 asset appraisal offices by revenue is published annually. Any asset appraisal institution that has received criminal penalties will be immediately downgraded by one level and may not regain its original rating within three years.
According to reports, as of 2020, the asset appraisal industry comprised a total of 5,408 appraisal offices, including their branch offices. In 2020, the industry generated aggregate business revenue of RMB 25.388 billion.
The rating is reassessed every three years.
It is reported that the Measures comprise a total of 16 articles, primarily covering the purpose and legal basis for their formulation, scope of application, basic definitions, working mechanisms, fundamental principles, evaluation criteria, eligibility for participation, data sources, procedural steps, evaluation cycle, certification levels, responsibilities of asset appraisal institutions, responsibilities of local associations, responsibilities of relevant personnel, related local initiatives, and the date of implementation.
The Measures take full account of both institutional continuity and the new requirements of industry development. Building on the content of Document No. 7 [2016] issued by the China Association of Asset Appraisers, they introduce a tiered rating system and have refined and adjusted certain provisions.
“One assessment, two outcomes.” Through a comprehensive evaluation, two results are generated: the rating of asset appraisal institutions and their ranking by revenue. The institutional rating is determined by scoring relevant indicators—such as professional competence, risk‑management capabilities, and ethical standards—according to established criteria. Based on the scores, asset appraisal institutions are assigned one of five levels: AAAAA, AAAA, AAA, AA, or A, with AAAAA being the highest. The revenue ranking ranks asset appraisal institutions according to their income and publishes a list of the top 100 offices.
The scope of eligibility and the principles for conofficeing relevant indicators have been adjusted. Asset appraisal institutions that have been established and completed fiscal filing for at least one accounting year shall participate in the comprehensive evaluation. Specifically: for asset appraisal institutions operating under a head‑office–branch model, all branch‑level indicators are consolidated into those of the parent company; for those operating under a parent‑subsidiary model, subsidiaries participate in the comprehensive evaluation as independent legal entities, with their individual indicators not being consolidated into the parent company. The revenue of an asset appraisal institution is based on the operating income of the single legal entity (or partnership), and no double counting is permitted for head offices and branches.
The assessment comprehensively takes into account various indicators of asset appraisal institutions. In designing these indicators, due consideration is given to the availability, reliability, and comparability of data, while also reflecting industry‑oriented principles to guide asset appraisal institutions in “enhancing quality, strengthening capabilities, and expanding scale,” and in earnestly fulfilling their social and professional responsibilities. The Measures assign a base score based on an institution’s professional competence, then aggregate scores from additional categories—including Party building, talent development, practice experience, risk‑management capacity, information‑technology infrastructure, and social responsibility—while deducting points for adverse conduct and warning‑related information, thereby arriving at a composite score. Each category has a predefined maximum score. The calculation formula is: Composite Score = Base Score + Scores for Positive Factors − Scores for Negative Factors.
The evaluation cycle for the comprehensive assessment has been clarified. The rating of asset appraisal institutions is reassessed every three years, and the list of the top 100 asset appraisal institutions by revenue is published annually. During this period, asset appraisal institutions that are newly registered or have had their membership reinstated shall participate in the next round of rating assessments and in the annual ranking of asset appraisal institutions by revenue. Asset appraisal institutions that have received criminal penalties shall be directly downgraded by one level and may not regain their original rating within three years; asset appraisal institutions whose membership has been suspended or revoked shall have their entries removed from the comprehensive assessment list concurrently.
Opinions have been solicited internally on multiple occasions.
It is reported that this revision is set against a specific backdrop.
To guide asset appraisal offices toward orderly competition and to help them become stronger, more efficient, and larger, the China Association of Asset Appraisers issued the “Measures for the Comprehensive Evaluation of Asset Appraisal Offices (Trial)” in 2007 (CAAA [2007] No. 109), establishing a comprehensive evaluation system for such offices. The measures were subsequently revised twice, in 2014 and 2016. Each year, the association publishes rankings—including the top 100 offices by overall composite score, the top 100 by annual business revenue, and the top 100 by headquarters revenue—which have become an important reference for stakeholders across society to assess the industry’s overall development and for clients selecting appraisal offices. These rankings have significantly enhanced the visibility of the asset appraisal sector and have earned broad recognition both within and outside the industry.
Following the implementation of the Asset Evaluation Law of the People’s Republic of China, the landscape of the asset evaluation industry has undergone significant changes. Document No. 7 [2016] issued by the China Association of Asset Appraisers can no longer accurately reflect the professional competence of asset evaluation institutions, making further revision urgently necessary.
In 2020, drawing on the mature practices of related industries, the China Association of Asset Appraisers began developing the “Measures for the Grading of Asset Appraisal Institutions” (hereinafter referred to as the “Grading Measures”), with the intention of using it as a supplement to comprehensive evaluation. In July 2020, the Association invited experts from the Department of Laws and Regulations of the Ministry of Finance, law offices, and other stakeholders to solicit their views on the potential legal risks associated with the issuance of the Grading Measures. In January 2021, the Association convened heads of large, medium, and small asset appraisal institutions to engage in an in-depth discussion of the draft Grading Measures. In May 2021, the Association organized secretaries-general of asset appraisal associations from provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and cities separately listed in the national plan (hereinafter referred to as local associations) to conduct a deliberation on the Grading Measures.
In December 2021, the China Association of Asset Appraisers convened two symposiums with asset appraisal institutions to solicit their views and recommendations. In January 2022, the Association issued a draft of the “Grading Measures” for public comment within the industry. Based on feedback from all stakeholders, the Association incorporated the “Grading Measures” into the comprehensive evaluation system, thereby formulating the final “Measures.”
Thousands of institutions across the entire industry
According to the “China Asset Valuation Industry Development Report 2020” released by the China Association of Asset Appraisers, in 2020 the asset valuation sector comprised a total of 5,408 appraisal offices, including branch offices. The industry’s total business revenue reached RMB 25.388 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate of 15.34%. As of the end of 2020, the sector employed 40,686 certified asset appraisers. Among them, those aged 40 or older accounted for approximately 75.55%, slightly down from last year’s 79.42%, indicating a modest easing of the trend toward an older workforce in the industry.
On September 5 this year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission released the “2022 Annual Report on the Securities Asset Valuation Market.” The report indicates that there are 272 asset valuation offices engaged in securities‑related services (hereinafter referred to as “securities valuation offices”), an increase of 51 compared with the previous year. These offices are predominantly concentrated in Beijing (79), Shenzhen (27), Shanghai (23), Jiangsu (18), and Guangdong (17). Together, these regions account for 164 offices, or 60.3% of the total.
As of the end of 2022, there were a total of 8,904 asset appraisers employed by securities appraisal institutions.
In terms of revenue scale, securities valuation offices reported total revenues of RMB 10.94 billion, up 3.4% year over year. Among these, asset‑valuation revenues amounted to RMB 7.96 billion, accounting for 72.7% of total revenues—a decrease of 0.6% compared with the previous year—while securities‑valuation revenues reached RMB 1.44 billion, representing 13.1% of total revenues and growing 2.5% year over year.

In the third quarter, securities offices faced as many as 104 regulatory penalties, with these three key areas emerging as the hardest hit.
In the just-concluded third quarter, the securities industry faced more than a hundred regulatory penalties.
As of the effective dates of the penalties, during the third quarter of 2023, the securities industry received a total of 104 enforcement notices—covering securities offices, their branches, and individual practitioners—implicating 46 offices. Among them, Huaxi Securities (002926) and Everbright Securities (601788) accounted for 7 and 6 notices, respectively. Additionally, Guorong Securities, AVIC Securities, Zhejiang Commercial Securities (601878), and Guosen Securities (002736) each faced 4 notices.
In terms of the areas targeted by enforcement actions, among the 104 penalties issued, 38 were related to brokerage activities, 31 to investment banking, 14 to research, and 11 to anti‑money‑laundering compliance. In addition, a small number of penalties were also imposed in the areas of information technology, employees’ stock trading, asset management, proprietary trading, and corporate governance.
Brokerage Business: Customer Follow-Ups and “Operating Without a License” Are Key Focuses of Regulatory Penalties
According to our analysis, the 38 fines issued in the brokerage sector primarily stem from deficiencies in customer follow-up and complaint-handling mechanisms, unauthorized personnel working in the field, inadequate suitability assessments, providing financing facilitation to third parties, and insufficient client‑acquisition and management practices.
Customer follow-up is an essential tool for managing service personnel and mitigating risks. However, amid the intense competition among securities offices to secure new account openings, some have neglected proper customer follow-ups and the handling of client complaints. According to statistics, during the third quarter of this year, eight securities offices or their branches failed to adequately conduct customer follow-ups or address client complaints, including First Capital (002797), Everbright Securities, Hengtai Securities, Galaxy Securities, Founder Securities (601901), Huaxin Securities, and Sinolink Securities (000166).
For example: The Yunfu Xinxing Liyuan Road Securities Branch, managed by Everbright Securities’ Guangdong Branch, failed to report a collective customer complaint in a timely manner as required; Hengtai Securities did not adequately implement its customer follow-up procedures; the Rizhao Weihai Road Securities Branch of Galaxy Securities failed to promptly identify and rectify issues arising during customer follow-up; and the Jilin Branch of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities did not document customer complaints or their resolution in the securities brokers’ files.
In addition, fines for “working without a license” have been steadily increasing. According to statistics, during the third quarter of this year, five brokerage branches or individual practitioners were found to have engaged in unauthorized operations, involving offices such as First Capital Securities, Bank of China Securities, CITIC Securities (601066), and Huaxin Securities. For example, the Tangshan Xinhua Road Securities Branch of Bank of China Securities was found to have employees who had not registered with the Asset Management Association of China as investment advisors providing investment advice to clients, while certain staff members also sold mutual funds to clients without holding the requisite fund‑industry qualifications.
Similarly, there have also been frequent penalties for inadequate suitability management, including at branch offices under Shenwan Hongyuan Securities and Huaxin Securities.
Investment Banking: Thirteen Penalties Issued by the CSRC Spark a Stir
According to a review, in the third quarter of this year, regulatory authorities issued a total of 31 penalties in the investment banking sector, three of which involved Zhongde Securities. Two penalties each were imposed on Changjiang Underwriting & Sponsorship, Minsheng Securities, Zhongtian Guofu, Guoxin Securities, Huaxi Securities, Western Securities (002673), Huachuang Securities, and Northeast Securities (000686). Notably, among these 31 penalties, 28 were also levied against underwriters.
It is worth noting that on September 6, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued 13 penalties in the investment banking sector, sparking widespread attention. These penalties involved six securities offices: Zhongde Securities, Huachuang Securities, Western Securities, Huaxi Securities, Guoxin Securities, and Zhongtian Guofu.
Furthermore, the content of the aforementioned securities‑office penalties generally falls into six common categories. First, inadequate internal control independence, affecting Zhongtian Guofu, Guoxin Securities, and Huaxi Securities; second, failure to effectively follow up on and implement core review opinions, involving Zhongtian Guofu, Guoxin Securities, and Western Securities; third, issues related to withdrawn or rejected projects, including Zhongtian Guofu, Huachuang Securities, and Zhongde Securities; fourth, matters concerning compensation, performance evaluation, and deferred payment, covering Zhongtian Guofu, Guoxin Securities, Western Securities, and Huachuang Securities; fifth, the engagement of third parties and compliance with integrity requirements, affecting Zhongtian Guofu, Guoxin Securities, Huaxi Securities, Western Securities, and Zhongde Securities; and sixth, accountability, involving Guoxin Securities and Western Securities.
As for sponsor representatives, Northeast Securities accounted for five of the 28 sanctioned individuals in a single instance. On September 27, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued public reprimands to five sponsor representatives involved in Yujingangshi’s (300064) 2016 non‑public offering of shares.
Anti-Money Laundering: Three Brokerage Offices Fined
In the third quarter of this year, the securities industry received a total of 11 fines in the anti‑money‑laundering domain, involving offices such as AVIC Securities and Huaxi Securities.
In August this year, the Nanchang Central Branch of the People’s Bank of China stated that AVIC Securities had committed three major violations: failing to fulfill its customer identification obligations as required; failing to submit reports on large-value transactions or suspicious transactions as mandated; and conducting transactions with customers whose identities were unknown. Consequently, AVIC Securities was fined RMB 1.5 million.
Meanwhile, the Nanchang Central Branch of the People’s Bank of China also imposed fines of RMB 45,000 and RMB 25,000, respectively, on Yang Mouwei, who was then the chief accountant (chief financial officer) of AVIC Securities, and Wang Mouyu, who was then the general manager of AVIC Securities’ Information Technology Department.
In September this year, the Sichuan Provincial Branch of the People’s Bank of China stated that Huaxi Securities had failed to submit reports on large-value transactions or suspicious transactions as required. Consequently, Huaxi Securities was fined RMB 350,000.
Similarly, the Sichuan Provincial Branch of the People’s Bank of China imposed fines of RMB 30,000 each on Wang Chengcheng, then Deputy General Manager of the Information Technology Department at Huaxi Securities; Wu Jinyou, then General Manager of the Operations Management Department (Retail) at Huaxi Securities; and He Qianwan, then responsible for anti‑money‑laundering monitoring in the Compliance and Legal Affairs Department at Huaxi Securities.

The National Administration of Financial Regulation has issued the Measures for the Administration of Insurance Sales Practices.
To safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of policyholders, insured persons, and beneficiaries, to standardize insurance sales practices, and to unify regulatory requirements for such practices, in accordance with the Insurance Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Strengthening the Protection of Financial Consumers’ Rights and Interests, and other relevant laws and documents, the National Administration of Financial Regulation recently issued the Measures for the Administration of Insurance Sales Practices (hereinafter referred to as the “Sales Measures”), which shall take effect as of March 1, 2024.
The “Sales Measures” comprise six chapters and 50 articles, dividing insurance sales activities into three stages—pre-sale, in-sale, and post-sale—and regulating each stage according to its distinct characteristics. First, pre-sale management governs the business scope of insurers and insurance intermediaries, their information systems, policy terms and definitions, information disclosure, product classification and tiering, sales personnel qualification levels, and sales promotion practices. Second, in-sale management requires insurers and insurance intermediaries to conduct customer due diligence and engage in appropriate sales, prohibits forced bundling and default pre‑selection, mandates disclosure of identity and relevant matters at the time of sale, and mandates clear explanations regarding reductions or exclusions of liability. Third, post-sale management sets forth requirements for policy delivery, follow-up calls, notification of changes in long-term insurance policyholders, prohibited conduct following such changes, and surrender procedures.
The Sales Measures represent an important step taken by the National Administration of Financial Regulation to implement the people-centered development philosophy and genuinely enhance insurance consumers’ sense of gain. They also serve as a foundational component in refining the behavioral regulatory framework and establishing a robust regulatory architecture for insurance sales practices. The issuance of these Measures underscores the political nature and people-oriented ethos of financial regulation, helping to elevate the standardization of sales conduct within the insurance sector and effectively bolstering insurance consumers’ satisfaction and sense of benefit.

Central Bank: Lowering the Down Payment Ratio and the Floor for Second-Home Mortgage Rates
“Resolutely guard against the risk of excessive exchange-rate overshooting and maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at an appropriate and balanced level.” “Lower the down-payment ratio and the floor for second-home mortgage rates, and ensure that reductions in existing first-home mortgage rates are effectively implemented and take effect”... In response to recent market‑wide discussions, the People’s Bank of China has once again issued a clear policy statement. According to information released on September 27 on the PBOC’s official website, the Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China recently held its regular third-quarter meeting for 2023 (hereinafter referred to as the “meeting”). Analysts believe that this meeting conveyed a strong signal of proactively stabilizing growth, maintaining exchange-rate stability, and fostering a recovery in the property market, thereby helping to bolster market confidence in economic recovery.
Structural support tools are expected to be introduced.
The meeting noted that the external environment has become increasingly complex and challenging, with a slowdown in international economic, trade, and investment activity, persistently high inflation, and interest rates in advanced economies expected to remain elevated. Domestically, the economy continues to recover, showing signs of improvement and strengthening momentum, yet it still faces challenges such as insufficient demand.
We must strengthen macro policy coordination, implement a prudent monetary policy in a targeted and effective manner, conduct counter-cyclical and cross‑cycle adjustments, and better leverage the dual functions of monetary policy tools—both in terms of overall quantity and structural guidance. We will focus on expanding domestic demand, bolstering market confidence, accelerating a virtuous economic cycle, and providing stronger support to the real economy.
“This meeting signals that the People’s Bank of China remains broadly optimistic about the prospects for economic recovery, while also emphasizing that we are currently at a critical juncture in the recovery process, requiring sustained and vigorous macroeconomic policies to accelerate the rebalancing of the economy,” commented Zhou Maohua, a macro researcher with the Financial Markets Department of China Everbright Bank. Under the current complex domestic and international environment, China’s macro policies must strike an appropriate balance among stabilizing growth, managing risks, and adjusting the economic structure, while also safeguarding both internal and external equilibrium.
During the meeting, the People’s Bank of China also stated that it would intensify the implementation of existing monetary policies, ensure reasonably ample liquidity, maintain steady and well‑balanced credit growth, and keep the growth rates of the money supply and total social financing broadly in line with nominal economic growth. It will also work to bring inflation back to a more moderate level and keep price levels within an appropriate range.
At the same time, we will fully implement the increased quotas for relending and rediscounting, effectively deploy existing structural monetary policy tools, and continue to strengthen support for key areas and weak links in the national economy, including inclusive finance, green development, technological innovation, and infrastructure construction. We will adopt a comprehensive set of measures to promote balanced regional development. We will deepen supply-side structural reform in the financial sector, guide large banks to shift their service focus downward, encourage medium- and small-sized banks to concentrate on their core businesses, support banks in replenishing their capital, and jointly safeguard the stable development of the financial market.
Pang Ming, Chief Economist and Head of Research for Greater China at JLL, pointed out that monetary policy must be coordinated with fiscal, industrial, and employment policies, emphasizing effective coordination, synergistic progress, and strengthened expectations management to sustain the recovery on both the supply and demand sides, thereby forging a concerted policy effort to expand domestic demand, bolster confidence, and guard against risks.
Pan Helin, Co-Director and Researcher at the Center for Digital Economy and Financial Innovation of the International Business School of Zhejiang University, argues that the core issue facing the economy today is not a lack of liquidity, but rather insufficient consumer and investment confidence, which has led to weak credit demand. The People’s Bank of China’s commitment to “keeping the growth rates of money supply and total social financing broadly in line with nominal economic growth” also offers a useful lens for gauging the direction of policy.
Looking ahead to future monetary policy, Zhou Maohua expects the People’s Bank of China to continue pursuing a prudent monetary policy in tandem with an active fiscal policy. On the one hand, it will step up implementation of already‑announced measures to accelerate their rollout and ensure tangible results; on the other, it will fully leverage both aggregate and structural policy tools, maintaining moderate, stable growth in the overall money supply and credit while channeling financial resources toward weak links in the real economy and key emerging sectors. He added, “Since the beginning of the year, domestic authorities have cut the reserve requirement ratio twice and lowered interest rates twice, signaling a clear front‑loaded policy response. Coupled with the mention of structural tools at this meeting, we can expect further structural support measures to be introduced in the period ahead.”
Pang Ming further stated that policies to stabilize growth and counter-cyclical measures will continue to be strengthened, with improvements in both quality and effectiveness, and implemented in a more targeted and meticulous manner. Given that the weighted average loan interest rate has already fallen to a relatively low level, and that the improving balance between market supply and demand is helping prices to rebound—thereby pushing real interest rates lower—he believes there remains a need for further interest-rate cuts within the year.
Mortgage adjustments should avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and unilateral enthusiasm.
Real estate finance, a topic of intense industry attention, was also given prominent consideration at this meeting.
The meeting proposed adopting city-specific policies to precisely implement differentiated housing credit measures, supporting both first-time homebuyer and housing‑upgrade demand. It called for fully implementing the dynamic adjustment mechanism for newly issued first‑home mortgage rates, lowering down payment ratios and the floor rate for second‑home mortgages, and ensuring that reductions in existing first‑home mortgage rates are effectively put into practice.
“Such policy adjustments will help create a more favorable environment for the housing market and other sectors, thereby further promoting the sound development of the real estate finance market,” said Yan Yuejin, Research Director at the E-House Institute.
In addition, the meeting emphasized the need to strengthen financial support for “dual-use” public infrastructure—capable of serving both peacetime and emergency needs—as well as for urban village redevelopment and the construction of affordable housing. Yan Yuejin believes this reflects two distinct trends in real estate finance: one focusing on traditional areas such as home purchases, and the other on emerging sectors, with urban village redevelopment serving as a key strategic priority. Financial backing for urban village redevelopment and similar initiatives is bound to intensify, which will objectively help further facilitate corporate financing and foster the healthier growth of these types of projects.
From the policy of “recognizing homes but not loans” to the reduction in interest rates on existing mortgages, the People’s Bank of China has now issued another statement. These favorable measures have bolstered market confidence. Zhou Maohua predicts that, supported by the traditionally strong “Golden September and Silver October” period, the pace of the housing market’s recovery is likely to accelerate in the fourth quarter.
Pang Ming also stated that, going forward, more robust policies on differentiated mortgage rates and adjustments to existing mortgages are expected. These measures could help reduce homebuyers’ costs and interest burdens while easing pressure on banks’ net interest margins. However, Pang Ming cautioned that relying solely on monetary policy tools such as lowering mortgage rates will not fully, effectively, or fundamentally address the overlapping cyclical, structural, and trend‑driven challenges facing the real estate market. Localities should, based on their specific circumstances, adjust real estate policies in a phased, orderly, flexible, and differentiated manner—refining measures related to purchase restrictions, resale restrictions, lending caps, price controls, transaction taxes and fees, and residential property classification—to ensure the effective implementation of city‑specific, district‑specific, and category‑specific policies, make full and judicious use of available policy tools, and put in place long‑term mechanisms for the real estate market, thereby stabilizing and reviving it.
“To achieve lawful and orderly adjustments to the interest rates on existing individual housing loans, it is essential to standardize the pricing order for loan rates within a market‑oriented and legally compliant framework,” Pang Ming stated. He added that commercial banks should, in accordance with specific guidelines and operational procedures issued by the relevant authorities as well as their own business conditions, conduct precise assessments of borrowers’ outstanding mortgage rates, outstanding principal balances, asset quality, credit histories, risk ratings, repayment capacities, and other factors—such as whether the property is a first home, whether it is occupied by the owner, and its size—to clearly define the criteria, conditions, and scope of rate adjustments. Banks should also adopt differentiated pricing strategies, tailored collateral approaches, and dynamically adjusted risk‑control measures, thereby avoiding one‑size‑fits‑all policies, short‑lived initiatives, or overly aggressive actions, while ensuring robust supporting measures are in place throughout both the pre‑loan underwriting and post‑loan monitoring phases.
Maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate.
On the RMB exchange rate, the People’s Bank of China has also stated that it will deepen market-oriented reforms of the exchange rate, guide enterprises and financial institutions to adhere to a “risk-neutral” approach, implement comprehensive measures to correct deviations and stabilize expectations, resolutely correct one-sided, pro-cyclical behaviors, officely guard against the risk of excessive exchange-rate volatility, and maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at an appropriate and balanced level.
In recent days, the renminbi exchange rate has experienced mild fluctuations, briefly falling below the 7.3 level and sparking market concerns. As of the close on September 27, the onshore renminbi was trading at 7.3088 per U.S. dollar, down 69 basis points from the previous session. However, Zhou Maohua noted that although the U.S. dollar has strengthened recently—driven by factors such as pressure from U.S. Treasury supply and a slowdown in the European economy—this has exerted some downward pressure on the renminbi. That said, judging from both domestic and external trends, he remains optimistic about the renminbi’s outlook for the remainder of the year.
Zhou Maohua added that recent data indicate that the domestic economy’s recovery momentum has strengthened, foreign trade remains resilient, cross-border capital flows are orderly in both directions, the balance of payments is broadly balanced, and the renminbi exchange rate is underpinned by solid fundamentals. At the same time, the renminbi has experienced sharp volatility in recent months, with market pricing largely reflecting both domestic and external headwinds; moreover, having weathered multiple severe domestic and international challenges, the market has matured more rapidly, and the currency’s flexibility has markedly increased.
Pang Ming also believes that the recent temporary downward pressure on the RMB–USD exchange rate is largely a passive depreciation driven by a stronger U.S. dollar index and widening expectations of a U.S.–China interest-rate spread. However, relevant authorities have already implemented policy measures—including introducing a countercyclical factor, raising macroprudential adjustment parameters for cross-border financing, issuing offshore central bank bills and government bonds, and lowering the foreign-exchange reserve requirement ratio—to strengthen effective management and prudent guidance of market expectations. Moreover, the policy toolkit still offers a broad array of options going forward.
Pang Ming cautioned that, as the People’s Bank of China has emphasized, with the renminbi exchange rate exhibiting greater two-way volatility and increased amplitude, market participants should adopt a “risk-neutral” approach to exchange-rate management, refrain from speculative currency‑trading activities that deviate from risk neutrality, maintain prudent operations, strengthen their risk‑management awareness and capabilities, conduct thorough risk assessments, engage in rational and cautious trading, appropriately hedge exchange-rate exposure and manage currency mismatches, and carefully structure the currency composition of their assets and liabilities.
Looking ahead, Pang Ming expects that China will continue to advance the development of a multi-tiered exchange-rate market and foreign-trade market system, deepen and broaden the scope of the foreign-exchange market, establish and refine mechanisms and forces to correct misalignments in the RMB exchange rate, and leverage the exchange rate as a stabilizing anchor for macroeconomic adjustment and balance-of-payments management.

The second wave of market-making securities offices for the Beijing Stock Exchange is on the horizon! Six brokerage offices have begun preparations, and insiders have revealed the latest developments.
Since September 1, with the successive release of documents such as the “Opinions on High-Quality Development of the Beijing Stock Exchange” and the “Special Provisions for Securities Offices Engaging in Market-Making Trading of Stocks on the Beijing Stock Exchange,” the reform of the market-making system at the Beijing Stock Exchange has continued to advance. As a key component of this reform, the relaxation of market-making eligibility criteria and the introduction of market makers from the New Third Board signal that the expansion of the pool of market makers on the Beijing Stock Exchange is imminent.
According to reports, at least six securities offices—including Haitong Securities, Changjiang Securities, Kaiyuan Securities, Shanghai Securities, GF Securities, and Zhongtai Securities—have already begun preparations for market-making on the Beijing Stock Exchange. Among them, Haitong Securities and Kaiyuan Securities have already initiated technical‑level preparations. Notably, the board of directors of Changjiang Securities recently approved a relevant proposal to apply for market‑making qualifications on the Beijing Stock Exchange and to commence trading activities there. This makes Changjiang Securities the first listed brokerage to publicly announce its intention to seek such qualifications since the threshold for market‑making eligibility was lowered.
Currently, the Beijing Stock Exchange has 15 market makers, most of whom were approved when the market-making mechanism was first introduced. Under the new regulations, roughly 20 securities offices meet the criteria for expansion, and the exchange is actively engaging with them. According to research by Galaxy Securities, the number of market makers on the Beijing Stock Exchange could eventually grow to around 40. Notably, allowing qualified New Third Board market makers to participate in the Beijing Stock Exchange’s market-making activities represents a key highlight of this reform. Following careful screening, the offices eligible for expansion are mid-sized securities companies that have long been deeply involved in New Third Board market making and demonstrate strong enthusiasm for engaging in Beijing Stock Exchange business.
While the Beijing Stock Exchange and the New Third Board have each developed distinctive characteristics, Kaiyuan Securities, which previously did not meet the relevant requirements, now stands to become one of the latest batch of market makers. Wang Qi, head of Kaiyuan Securities’ Market-Making Department, stated that, under the new regulations, the office has already satisfied the eligibility criteria for becoming a market maker on the Beijing Stock Exchange. The company is currently actively preparing the necessary documentation for its application, including a detailed plan, internal policies, staffing for the market-making team, and the market-making trading system, with the aim of obtaining the exchange’s market-making qualification as soon as possible.
Market making will become a key strategic focus for securities offices as they expand their business on the Beijing Stock Exchange. Advancing market-making activities on the BSE offers securities offices three major positive benefits.
First, it will help securities offices play a more active role in the high-quality development of the Beijing Stock Exchange. At present, one of the key challenges facing the exchange is liquidity. Data show that market-making has a positive impact on enhancing market liquidity, and increased market-making activity by securities offices can further improve liquidity on the Beijing Stock Exchange. Coupled with greater investment across multiple business lines—such as investment banking and brokerage—industry insiders predict that, following the implementation of these deep‑reform measures, a virtuous cycle conducive to the sustainable, high‑quality development of the Beijing Stock Exchange is likely to take shape at an accelerated pace.
Second, benefiting from the aforementioned favorable ecosystem, this approach also “gives back” to the securities offices themselves, generating more business opportunities and helping them develop sustainable business models and profit‑driving mechanisms. Market‑making activities are highly synergistic: on the Beijing Stock Exchange, a securities office’s investment banking, investment, market‑making, brokerage, and sales‑trading operations form a seamless closed loop, enabling it to offer end-to-end services to enterprises.
Third, it provides support for the classification-based evaluation of securities offices. In this year’s classification assessment, the additional points awarded for Beijing Stock Exchange‑related business have been further increased. Correspondingly, the specialized evaluation places a strong emphasis on enhancing the quality and liquidity of companies listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, with nine key indicators established. Among these, the weighting for market‑making activities accounts for one quarter of the total score, second only to financing and IPO‑related business. This means that increased investment by securities offices in market‑making on the Beijing Stock Exchange will positively contribute to their classification scores.
Wang Qi stated that, for the securities industry, the participation of more brokerage offices as market makers on the Beijing Stock Exchange has broadened its investor base, thereby fostering a virtuous cycle within the sector.
Fifteen brokerage offices are providing market-making services for more than 60 stocks, with Guojin, Anxin, and CITIC taking the lead.
The market‑making system is a well‑established trading mechanism in both domestic and international securities markets. By having market makers continuously provide two‑sided quotes for buying and selling at specified bid‑ask spreads and quantities, this system helps to supply underlying liquidity, enhance price‑discovery efficiency, and mitigate short‑term volatility.
Since the Beijing Stock Exchange officially introduced the market-making trading mechanism in February 2023, trading has remained stable. According to the exchange’s official website, as of the end of the third quarter of this year, a total of 15 market makers have provided market-making services for more than 60 stocks, with an aggregate of 134 market-making entities (each market maker is counted as one entity per stock). In terms of the number of stocks covered, the breakdown is as follows: Guojin Securities (37 stocks), Anxin Securities (26 stocks), CITIC Securities (17 stocks), Industrial Securities (11 stocks), CITIC Securities Investment (9 stocks), Sinolink Securities (8 stocks), Galaxy Securities (6 stocks), Dongwu Securities (4 stocks), Guotai Junan (4 stocks), Zhejiang Commercial Securities (3 stocks), Caitong Securities (3 stocks), Orient Securities (2 stocks), Guoxin Securities (2 stocks), Huatai Securities (1 stock), and China Merchants Securities (1 stock).
Since August this year, market-making activities have accelerated markedly. In August, 24 new market-making entities were added, with Anxin Securities and Shenwan Hongyuan introducing 11 and 6 new eligible securities, respectively—both representing substantial additions. In September, 19 new market-making transactions were initiated, led by CITIC Securities and Guojin Securities, which added 11 and 6 new eligible securities, respectively.
As a mature trading mechanism, the market‑making system has effectively enhanced liquidity and reduced volatility, thanks to compliant quote‑setting by market makers. Data show that the initial cohort of 15 brokerage offices covered 36 securities. In the first two weeks after the market‑making regime was launched—prior to its official commencement—the average daily turnover rate over the preceding 60 days for these 36 securities stood at 0.70%; this rose to 1.07% on the first day of market making, an increase of 84.06%. During the first week, the average growth rate of turnover was 14.93%, while in the second week it averaged 6.29%. Notably, 31 of these securities exhibited a marked uptick in turnover following the introduction of market making: the average turnover rate on the first day reached 1.16%, up 65.71% from the prior 60‑day average.
Relaxing admission criteria, market makers flock to the New Third Board.
“Stock‑making services were first introduced on the New Third Board, and after years of development, a cohort of securities offices has emerged that have deeply specialized in this business. However, to ensure a stable start, the Beijing Stock Exchange initially aligned its market‑maker qualification regime with the requirements of the STAR Market. Compared with the robust demand for market‑making in the BSE, the number of market makers remains somewhat insufficient,” said a securities industry analyst who has closely tracked the evolution of both the New Third Board and the Beijing Stock Exchange. “This also underscores that there is ample capacity to provide a strong pool of market makers for the BSE.”
This adjustment to the market-making threshold is a key prerequisite for the current expansion. Under the new rules, the net capital requirement for securities offices has been lowered from RMB 10 billion to RMB 5 billion; the criterion of maintaining an A‑class rating for three consecutive years has been revised to requiring at least one A‑class rating in the past three years, with a B‑class rating of BB or higher in the most recent year. In addition, two new indicators more aligned with the characteristics of the Beijing Stock Exchange have been introduced: ranking among the top 20 in the number of listed companies sponsored on the Beijing Stock Exchange, or ranking within the top 50 in terms of market‑making turnover on the New Third Board over the past year. All other conditions remain unchanged.
Wang Qi, head of the Market-Making Department at Open Source Securities, stated that launching market-making activities on the Beijing Stock Exchange is a strategically significant step the company must take. “For many years, the company has been actively involved in market-making on the New Third Board. Since the Beijing Stock Exchange’s inception, we have remained focused on identifying and capitalizing on various business opportunities within its market. Entering the market-making arena on the Beijing Stock Exchange will help consolidate and expand our existing business prospects.”
As securities offices’ market-making businesses continue to evolve, they must steadily enhance their expertise in valuation, pricing, and liquidity provision, ensuring that stocks listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange are assigned relatively fair valuations and that market liquidity improves. In response, Wang Qi stated that the company plans to undertake a comprehensive system upgrade and has deployed multiple investment‑research analysts across various industry sectors to conduct in-depth tracking, thereby strengthening its ability to assess fundamentals and industry trends. This will enable the office to deliver more robust quoting services and fully leverage the advantages of hybrid market making.
Market making on the Beijing Stock Exchange represents a major opportunity for securities offices to expand their business. In the long term, capital strength and investment research and pricing capabilities will be the most significant challenges these offices face—how can they rise to the occasion? According to Wang Qi, in terms of investment research and pricing, the company has systematically categorized Beijing Stock Exchange‑listed and prospective issuers across various industries, with key focus areas including high-end equipment manufacturing, new materials, semiconductors, and the TMT sector. “For the majority of companies already listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange, we have established ongoing industry‑specific monitoring; going forward, we will further increase our resources and place particular emphasis on tracking newly listed entities on the New Third Board.”
The new market-making rules will better enhance liquidity for leading companies.
Focusing on the current plan for high-quality development and reform of the Beijing Stock Exchange, and in light of the fact that small and medium-sized securities offices are the mainstay in serving SMEs, the initiative seeks to bring in market makers with extensive experience in the New Third Board and robust risk-management capabilities to participate in the BSE’s market-making activities. By aligning small and medium-sized securities offices—well‑matched to the SMEs they serve—the proposed framework will enhance compatibility and better enable the BSE’s market makers to fulfill their intended role. In addition, supporting measures such as securities‑lending‑based market making and the introduction of a post‑closing fixed‑price trading mechanism will further diversify risk‑management tools for market‑making inventory shares.
Among these, the new “Market-Making Regulations” comprise seven articles, primarily setting forth the eligibility criteria for market makers on the Beijing Stock Exchange, while also establishing general principles regarding regulatory alignment and supervisory oversight. In addition, the “Detailed Rules for Market-Making Trading on the Beijing Stock Exchange” and their accompanying business guidelines have been revised to permit market makers to use dedicated securities accounts for strategic allocations, thereby further facilitating their access to securities. The regulations also adjust the linkage between market‑maker exemption from quotation requirements and the over‑allotment option mechanism: once the lead underwriter has disclosed that the buyback has been completed, it may commence market‑making quotations, encouraging market makers to promptly provide quoting services following a new share listing, thus providing foundational liquidity and enhancing price stability. Moreover, the evaluation metrics for market‑maker trading volume have been optimized to incentivize market makers to enhance stock liquidity through flexible quoting strategies.
Notably, Liu Jing, Chief Analyst at SW Securities for the Beijing Stock Exchange, pointed out that the recent reform of the BSE’s market-making regime has adjusted the performance‑evaluation metrics, which will encourage securities offices to provide market‑making services to leading companies. Previously, market makers were assessed based on “weighted” trading volume—meaning the transaction value generated by a office was divided by the total number of market makers for that stock. This approach incentivized offices to spread their market‑making efforts across a broad range of stocks, leading some to focus on securities with no other market makers. However, the latest change has eliminated the weighting factor and now calculates trading volume directly, thereby enhancing liquidity for top‑tier companies.
Private equity offices’ participation in market-making is currently being prepared.
As of now, 15 securities offices are providing market-making services on the Beijing Stock Exchange, with increasingly broad coverage, preliminary functional implementation, and notably positive results. Based on the exchange’s early operational experience in market making, during the preparatory phase, market makers typically build up their inventory through secondary‑market purchases, which is expected to inject a certain amount of additional capital into the market.
Meanwhile, the Beijing Stock Exchange has concurrently revised its rules governing market-making activities, refining the market-maker turnover metric within its evaluation framework and eliminating the weighting factor for the number of market-makers. Market participants anticipate that these changes will further boost market-makers’ enthusiasm to provide liquidity for leading high-quality stocks, including constituents of the BSE 50 Index.
Notably, the Beijing Stock Exchange is set to welcome a new category of market makers—private equity offices. On September 20, the Exchange convened a seminar on private‑equity market making, bringing together representatives from the Asset Management Association of China and private‑equity institutions to discuss the Exchange’s efforts to pilot private‑equity market‑making activities and further refine its trading framework. The Beijing Stock Exchange has already initiated joint research with the Asset Management Association to explore viable models for private‑equity market making and, while maintaining risk under control, will continue to examine ways to engage private‑equity offices in market‑making functions.
Southwest Securities believes that if private‑equity offices are allowed to participate in market making, the pool of market makers on the Beijing Stock Exchange could expand significantly, which would help restore liquidity and support a recovery in undervalued stocks. Zhu Haibin of Kaiyuan Securities’ Beijing Stock Exchange Research Center further noted that broadening the eligibility criteria for market makers, coupled with a coordinated package of policies—including full‑scale registration, margin trading and securities lending, and the launch of funds tracking the BSE 50 Index—could further enhance the overall market environment.

Crack down on securities-related illegal activities in accordance with the law and with strict enforcement.
For violating regulations by reducing holdings against market conditions, the controlling shareholder of the listed company, ILE Home Furnishings, has been severely penalized by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Recently, the CSRC announced progress in its investigation into the case involving Yu Fanyi and his concerted actors’ unauthorized reduction of ILE Home Furnishings shares, proposing to confiscate RMB 16.53 million in illegal gains and impose a hefty fine of RMB 32.95 million, thereby underscoring the regulator’s unwavering resolve to crack down on securities‑related violations.
Strictly and lawfully cracking down on securities‑related illegal activities is a crucial safeguard for maintaining order in the capital market and enabling it to fulfill its pivotal role. Against the backdrop of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau meeting’s call to “revitalize the capital market and boost investor confidence,” rigorously, swiftly, and severely punishing offenders—ensuring they face appropriate penalties and pay a heavy price—while resolutely curbing securities‑related violations, is both what the public expects and a key measure for restoring market vitality.
At present, the number of individual investors in China has exceeded 200 million, serving as a key source of market vitality. However, due to their relatively limited risk‑identification and risk‑management capabilities, they are particularly vulnerable to various illegal practices. Since the beginning of this year, sluggish market conditions have undermined investor confidence; at this stage, even a single instance of misconduct could amplify negative sentiment, eroding investors’ trust in the market and dampening their growth expectations. Unless we can foster a sound market environment that effectively safeguards investors’ legitimate rights and interests, bolstering their confidence will remain out of reach.
With the successive implementation of the new Securities Law and the Eleventh Amendment to the Criminal Law, as well as the issuance of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council’s “Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Securities‑Related Illegal Activities in Accordance with the Law,” China’s securities market has seen a preliminary curb on the rampant and frequent occurrence of illegal activities. The market environment continues to improve, and an atmosphere of stringent regulation has gradually taken shape. However, recent investigations by local securities regulatory authorities reveal that illegal practices such as insider trading, market manipulation, and unauthorized share reductions persist, often exhibiting new characteristics like organized and syndicated operations. Consequently, how to rigorously combat all forms of illegal activity and strengthen the deterrent effect of enforcement has become an urgent task—both for ensuring short‑term market stability and for fostering the high‑quality development of the capital market over the long term.
Crack down rigorously and forge a concerted effort. Securities‑related violations typically involve long, complex chains of wrongdoing and are widespread, making it difficult for securities regulators alone to complete evidence‑gathering and investigations within a short timeframe. Securities regulators should continuously strengthen coordination with public security, judicial, market supervision authorities, and relevant local governments; refine information‑sharing mechanisms; and enhance cooperation between administrative enforcement and criminal justice. By doing so, they can pool resources to effectively combat securities‑related misconduct, leaving the masterminds behind the scenes with nowhere to hide and ensuring that unlawful conduct carries a heavy price.
Crack down rigorously and diversify enforcement tools. With the rapid advancement of information and network technologies, securities‑related violations have become increasingly concealed and complex, necessitating that relevant authorities continuously refine their enforcement mechanisms and enhance their professional expertise. By leveraging big data, artificial intelligence, and other cutting‑edge technologies, we can establish monitoring and early‑warning systems, accelerate the development of a technology‑driven regulatory and enforcement framework, and improve enforcement effectiveness through pre‑emptive restrictions and real‑time interception measures. This approach will strengthen prevention, enable timely detection, and ensure targeted, precise enforcement.
Crack down rigorously, ensuring that the sword of justice remains ever‑ready and deterrence is constant. Efforts to combat securities‑related violations must never be short‑lived or merely symbolic; they must be sustained and resolute. By maintaining an unrelenting high‑pressure stance, we must continually send a clear “zero tolerance” signal to the market—investigating every case, prosecuting each one, pursuing investigations to their logical conclusion, and imposing severe penalties. Only then can those who contemplate illegal conduct truly be deterred and abandon any hope of getting away with it, thereby effectively curbing and reducing the occurrence of unlawful activities.

China has expanded the list of systemically important banks to twenty, thereby strengthening the foundations of financial stability.
Systemically important banks operate with sound management, providing a solid foundation for the overall stability of the financial system. Recently, the People’s Bank of China and the National Administration of Financial Regulation conducted the 2023 assessment of systemically important banks in China, identifying 20 domestic systemically important banks, including six state-owned commercial banks, nine joint-stock commercial banks, and five city commercial banks.
This marks the third consecutive year that China has published a list of systemically important banks. In December 2020, the People’s Bank of China and the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission jointly issued the “Measures for the Assessment of Systemically Important Banks.” Since 2021, the People’s Bank of China and the National Administration of Financial Regulation (formerly the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission) have annually reviewed 30 candidate banks to conduct systemically important bank assessments, identifying those deemed systemically important and publishing the corresponding list.
Systemically important financial institutions, owing to their large size, high complexity, and strong interconnectedness with other financial entities, provide critical financial services within the financial system and exert a significant influence on its stable and efficient functioning. Industry insiders note that these banks play a pivotal role in China’s financial system, enjoying a prominent market position and substantial influence. Strengthening regulation of systemically important banks helps solidify the foundations of financial stability in China and bolster market confidence.
“The People’s Bank of China and the National Administration of Financial Regulation have assessed and designated systemically important banks, while also introducing higher regulatory standards and requirements. This move is of great significance for improving the macroprudential policy framework and enhancing the resilience of China’s financial system,” said Dong Ximiao, Chief Researcher at Zhaolian. Historical experience shows that systemic risks stemming from systemically important institutions exhibit characteristics distinct from those of ordinary risks; once such risks materialize, they can spread rapidly through the financial system and deliver substantial shocks to macroeconomic performance. The global financial crisis that erupted in 2008 vividly underscored the importance and urgency of preventing systemic risk and safeguarding financial stability. Consequently, strengthening oversight of systemically important financial institutions and mitigating the “too big to fail” risk have become key components of efforts to draw lessons from the crisis and refine the financial regulatory regime.
According to reports, the People’s Bank of China and the National Administration of Financial Regulation assess and designate systemically important banks based on 13 indicators across four dimensions—size, interconnectedness, substitutability, and complexity. Banks scoring above 100 points are included in the list of systemically important banks and are grouped into five tiers according to their scores; higher tiers indicate greater systemic importance. Given differences in banks’ development strategies, business models, and growth rates, the composition of the list and the distribution across tiers may undergo marginal adjustments.
Overall, China’s systemically important banks are operating steadily. Together, the 20 systemically important banks account for 61% of the total assets of the Chinese banking sector and roughly half of the financial industry’s total assets, serving as stabilizers and anchors for the financial system. Data show that in the first half of this year, loans to these banks grew by 11.5% year on year, while measures such as fee reductions and profit concessions helped lower financing costs for the real economy, with continued efforts to bolster support for small and micro enterprises, private offices, technological innovation, and green development. At the same time, these banks have maintained strong asset quality and robust risk‑mitigation capabilities. As of the end of June, listed systemically important banks reported an average non‑performing loan ratio of 1.28%, with core Tier 1 capital adequacy and total capital adequacy ratios of 10.8% and 15.6%, respectively, and a loan loss reserve coverage ratio of 254%—all above the banking sector average.
“Gradually establishing regulatory frameworks for systemically important banks will help enhance the resilience of China’s banking system, safeguard financial stability, and, at the same time, enable the banking sector to better serve the real economy and support high-quality economic development,” said Dong Ximiao. He added that systemically important banks should proactively plan and make timely capital replenishments, strengthen corporate governance, refine risk-resolution mechanisms, and bolster their ability to withstand risks while improving the quality and effectiveness of their services to the real economy.
Pang Ming, Chief Economist and Head of Research for Greater China at JLL, stated that following inclusion on the list of systemically important banks, capital‑raising pressures vary across bank types. State-owned major banks, with relatively high capital adequacy ratios, face comparatively manageable capital‑supplementing pressures, whereas certain joint-stock banks may encounter significant challenges in maintaining adequate capital levels and securing sufficient capital going forward.
Going forward, the People’s Bank of China and the National Administration of Financial Regulation will jointly strengthen the supplementary supervision of systemically important banks, ensuring that these banks meet the prescribed requirements for additional capital and the additional leverage ratio. This will enhance their risk resilience and loss‑absorption capacity, harness the combined strengths of macroprudential management and microprudential supervision, and promote the sound operations and healthy development of systemically important banks. In doing so, they will continue to consolidate the foundations of financial stability and better support the growth of the real economy.

Commercial & Corporate
Public Consultation on the Regulations on Standardizing and Promoting Cross-Border Data Flows
The Cyberspace Administration of China has issued a notice soliciting public comments on the “Regulations on Standardizing and Promoting Cross-Border Data Flows (Draft for Public Comment),” with the deadline for feedback set for October 15.
According to the Draft for Public Comments, data transfers abroad arising from international trade, academic cooperation, cross-border manufacturing and production, marketing, and other activities—provided that such data does not include personal information or important data; involves the transfer of personal information of fewer than 10,000 individuals to overseas destinations within a year; or pertains to personal information collected within China that is subsequently transferred overseas—are exempt from the requirements to submit a data export security assessment, enter into standard contractual clauses for the cross-border transfer of personal information, or obtain personal information protection certification.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has released typical cases from the “Iron Fist” campaign to investigate and prosecute cases in areas of public concern.
The State Administration for Market Regulation has designated the strict crackdown on “illegal acts that infringe upon consumers’ rights by exploiting unfair standard terms” as a key priority of its 2023 “Iron Fist” enforcement campaign in the area of people’s livelihoods. It has coordinated market regulation authorities across the country to investigate and handle a number of cases, and on September 28 announced the seventh batch of typical cases from the 2023 “Iron Fist” campaign targeting violations in this sector.
The cases announced this time include: the Beijing Pinggu District Market Supervision Administration’s investigation into Beijing Xiaotai Technology Co., Ltd. for using standard terms to infringe upon consumers’ rights; the Shanghai Minhang District Market Supervision Administration’s investigation into Bolepai Amusement Park in Minhang District, Shanghai, for excluding consumers’ rights through in-store notices; and the Wuxi Municipal Market Supervision Administration of Jiangsu Province’s coordinated enforcement action against Wuxi Zhongcai Cultural Development Co., Ltd. and five other cinemas for using standard terms to violate consumers’ rights—totaling ten cases.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development is seeking public input on 12 national standards.
Recently, the website of the Ministry of Housing and Urban–Rural Development released 12 national standards for public comment, covering a wide range of areas including mining, engineering, industrial buildings, urban rail transit, and smart homes.
The national standards currently under public consultation include the “General Technical Requirements for Smart Home Automation Devices (Revised Draft for Comments),” the “Energy‑Saving Testing Standard for Public Buildings (Partially Revised Draft for Comments),” the “Process Design Code for Ore‑Dressing Plants in Metallurgical Mines (Partially Revised Draft for Comments),” and the “Code for Construction Organization Design of Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects (Partially Revised Draft for Comments),” among others.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has issued the “Guidance on Determining Market Benchmark Prices for Proceeds from the Transfer of Mining Rights.”
The Ministry of Natural Resources has issued the “Notice on the Issuance of the ‘Guidance for Determining Market Benchmark Prices for Proceeds from the Transfer of Mining Rights’.”
The Notice clarifies that each region shall, in accordance with the requirements, establish a market benchmark price for the transfer revenue of mineral rights, which, upon approval by the provincial people’s government, shall be publicly announced and implemented, and reported to the Ministry for record. The requirements for updating and adjusting the market benchmark price for mineral‑rights transfer revenue shall be strictly enforced, with updates generally carried out every three years. The Ministry will strengthen inspection and guidance.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have launched the “Sailing Plan” to promote employment and entrepreneurship among specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
To further support the sound development of specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, create more high-quality jobs, and help more key groups secure employment, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued a notice to launch and implement the “Sailing Plan” for employment and entrepreneurship among such SMEs.
The Notice clearly outlines seven key areas: First, it encourages the establishment of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. It strengthens entrepreneurship support by prioritizing incubation services and providing guidance on project development, risk assessment, and practical simulations. Financial assistance is enhanced, with expedited implementation of policies such as entrepreneurial guarantee loans and special loans for stabilizing and expanding employment, where eligible. Second, it ensures adequate labor supply for businesses. Specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative SMEs are included in priority employment‑service programs; dedicated recruitment zones are set up within the “10+N” public employment‑service initiatives to facilitate supply‑demand matching. Labor‑cooperation mechanisms are deepened, and systems for balancing labor surpluses and shortages are explored to alleviate staffing challenges. Third, it safeguards the supply of technical and skilled talent. A digital‑technology engineer training program is launched, offering standardized training across occupations, specializations, and levels. Information on urgently needed and scarce occupations (job categories) among specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative SMEs is compiled, and order‑based, targeted, and post‑specific training is promoted. Fourth, it supports the career development of technical and skilled professionals. Professional title classifications are dynamically adjusted, and occupational and evaluation standards are refined and improved. Policies on continuing education, professional title reviews, and vocational training are integrated; those who obtain senior‑level professional technical certificates through the digital‑technology engineer program may use them as important references when applying for senior titles, while holders of intermediate or junior certificates may be eligible for intermediate or junior title recognition at local and departmental levels. Fifth, it supports the implementation of employment‑internship programs. The “Leading Initiative for Youth Employment Internships in Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative SMEs” is carried out, with internship positions developed and internship bases established. Enterprises that organize such internships receive internship subsidies, and those that retain interns after the internship period is extended receive subsidies for the remaining duration. Sixth, it promotes harmonious labor relations. Enterprises are guided to hire in compliance with laws and regulations, and collective bargaining is encouraged on issues such as wages, rest and leave, and benefits. Potential labor disputes are proactively identified, and a robust emergency response mechanism for major collective labor disputes is put in place to protect the legitimate rights and interests of both employers and employees. Seventh, it streamlines the delivery of employment‑support policies. By leveraging big data and conducting data‑matching, relevant policies are proactively communicated to eligible beneficiaries. The “Fast‑Track Human Resources and Social Security Services” initiative is advanced, promoting a “direct subsidy, fast processing” model to comprehensively implement, in accordance with regulations, policies such as employment‑incentive subsidies, social security subsidies, and job‑expansion allowances.
The Notice calls for strengthening organizational leadership, refining work measures, enhancing guidance and coordination, and closely monitoring progress to ensure effective implementation. It also urges the identification and promotion of a group of specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative SMEs that create substantial employment and enjoy a strong social reputation, so as to leverage their exemplary role and foster a positive public discourse.

Taxation
Tax and fee preferential policies continue to energize high-quality development.
Wang Jun, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the State Taxation Administration
Since the beginning of this year, in the face of a complex and challenging international environment and daunting domestic tasks related to reform, development, and stability, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has demonstrated far-sighted vision and keen judgment, proactively formulating and implementing a series of tax and fee preferential policies that have been extended, refined, and improved. These measures have further stabilized market expectations, bolstered market confidence, and invigorated market vitality. At present, China’s national economy continues to recover, showing an overall trend of steady improvement; the Chinese economy possesses substantial resilience and significant potential, and its fundamental strengths remain unchanged. At the same time, economic performance is confronting new difficulties and challenges. The tax authorities must thoroughly study and grasp General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on tax and fee reductions, earnestly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and ensure that all tax and fee preferential policies are fully and effectively put into practice through the solid and in-depth conduct of thematic education on studying and applying Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. By delivering new, high‑quality results in tax administration, we will test the outcomes of this thematic education, actively promote sustained improvements in economic performance, strengthen endogenous growth drivers, enhance social expectations, and continuously address risks and hidden dangers, thereby making an even greater contribution to supporting high‑quality development.
I. Deeply recognize the significant importance of continuing, optimizing, and improving tax and fee preferential policies.
At the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on July 24 this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to continue implementing an active fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, to extend, refine, and improve tax and fee reduction measures, and to effectively leverage both aggregate‑level and structural monetary policy tools, thereby providing strong support for scientific and technological innovation, the real economy, and the development of small, medium, and micro enterprises. This represents a major strategic decision made at a critical juncture when China’s economy is undergoing steady recovery and industrial upgrading, and it sets the course for the tax authorities to better fulfill their vital role in cross‑cycle and counter‑cyclical macroeconomic regulation.
Continuing, optimizing, and refining tax and fee preferential policies is a crucial measure for sustaining the improvement of economic performance and vigorously advancing high-quality development. Following the smooth transition from pandemic control to a new phase, economic recovery has unfolded as a wave‑like process marked by twists and turns. Since the beginning of this year, China’s economy has maintained steady recovery; however, amid a complex and volatile domestic and international environment, it now faces fresh difficulties and challenges. As an important instrument of proactive fiscal policy, tax and fee reductions combine elements of both demand‑side and supply‑side management: they help expand aggregate demand and stabilize growth, promote industrial restructuring and raise potential growth rates, and lower institutional transaction costs and overall operating expenses. These measures play a vital role in enhancing the quality of national economic circulation and driving high‑quality development. The series of newly introduced tax and fee preferential policies this year are characterized by foresight, continuity, and precision, squarely addressing the current difficulties, challenges, and structural weaknesses in China’s economic development. They uphold the principle of continuing what should be continued, optimizing what deserves optimization, and innovating where innovation is warranted. These policies encompass both timely extensions—such as halving the urban land use tax on land used for bulk commodity storage facilities by logistics enterprises and reducing the employment security fund for persons with disabilities—alongside well‑implemented measures that have garnered strong public support, as well as broader initiatives like reduced VAT for small‑scale taxpayers and lower income taxes for micro‑ and small‑enterprises and individual business households, with a clear emphasis on bolstering these smaller market players. Moreover, they place particular focus on fostering technological innovation and the development of advanced manufacturing, introducing measures such as an additional VAT credit for advanced manufacturing, raising the proportion of R&D expenses eligible for extra deductions, and expanding the eligibility window for such benefits. Collectively, these policies integrate short‑term objectives of reviving economic momentum with medium‑ and long‑term goals of driving growth through innovation. They will significantly boost market confidence, effectively hedge against external uncertainties, and inject robust impetus into China’s efforts to smooth out economic fluctuations and sustain a steady, positive trajectory.
Continuing, optimizing, and refining tax and fee preferential policies is a crucial measure for alleviating the burden on all types of market entities and further invigorating market vitality. At present, China’s economy faces significant downward pressure, with many business entities—particularly small, medium, and micro enterprises as well as individual business households, which are predominantly private—facing substantial operational and production challenges, coupled with insufficient domestic demand. Promptly clarifying the follow-up arrangements for expiring tax and fee incentives, while further intensifying efforts to cut taxes and fees, will continue to ease burdens and help enterprises and individuals overcome difficulties, thereby playing a vital role in bolstering confidence and stimulating dynamism. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council, guided by the needs of economic development and the expectations of the people, have comprehensively clarified the package of tax and fee preferential policies set to expire over the next two years. Most of these measures have been extended directly through the end of 2027, with additional enhancements, benefiting both businesses and individuals, supporting the economy while improving people’s livelihoods, and significantly stabilizing the expectations of all market participants. In particular, the policy framework places a strong emphasis on targeted support for areas such as people’s livelihoods and employment, small and micro enterprises, and the private sector. From further bolstering the development of small and micro enterprises and individual business households, to stepping up assistance for key groups—including college graduates and registered unemployed persons—in starting businesses and finding employment, to raising the standards for special additional deductions under the individual income tax—every measure reflects a deep concern for people’s well-being, a commitment to safeguarding public sentiment, and a responsive approach to public opinion. These steps will further strengthen the effectiveness of policies that benefit both enterprises and the public, helping a broad range of market entities alleviate financial pressures, navigate challenging times, and boost consumer spending, thereby expanding domestic effective demand.
Continuing, optimizing, and refining tax and fee preferential policies is a crucial step in enhancing the functions of taxation and advancing the modernization of tax governance. Optimizing the tax structure was a key task set forth at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. As an essential component of the tax system, temporary preferential policies are characterized by their flexibility and diversity, enabling them to respond promptly to the needs of economic development. In light of evolving economic conditions, further refining and improving these temporary measures is an integral part of the ongoing effort to optimize and enhance China’s tax system. The newly introduced tax and fee preferential policies this year place greater emphasis on institutionalization. For example, raising the additional deduction rate for R&D expenses of eligible enterprises from 75% to 100% and making it a permanent, institutionalized measure will help foster a favorable tax environment that incentivizes corporate innovation; meanwhile, increasing the standards for special individual income tax deductions related to childcare for children under three, education, and elder care will further alleviate the financial burden of family support, better safeguard and improve people’s livelihoods, and make the personal income tax system more scientific and rational. By continuing, optimizing, and perfecting these tax and fee preferential policies and ensuring their effective implementation, we are strengthening and refining the modern tax system, thereby powerfully advancing the modernization of the tax governance system and governance capacity.
II. Officely assume and fully implement the primary responsibility for delivering tax and fee preferential policies.
To thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, the tax authorities must consciously shoulder their primary responsibility for ensuring the effective implementation of tax and fee preferential policies, taking concrete actions to see that all such measures are fully and meticulously put into practice. In the face of this year’s challenges—numerous policy initiatives with broad coverage, tight timelines yet high implementation standards, and a mix of measures that both extend existing programs and apply retroactively—the tax authorities have remained proactive, coordinated, and efficient. Building on their existing efforts, they have launched a comprehensive package of policy‑implementation measures, adopting more robust approaches and more refined strategies to ensure that these policies reach the “last mile” effectively, thereby guaranteeing that market entities can reap the full benefits of these policies with greater speed, higher quality, and more substantial results.
Proactively participating in the top-level design of tax and fee preferential policies. As the frontline of economic activity, the tax authorities directly engage with taxpayers and payers, possessing the deepest understanding of the needs of various market entities, the most comprehensive grasp of the impact of different preferential measures, and the most thorough access to relevant data and information. Leveraging these strengths, by the end of last year, the tax authorities conducted a systematic review of preferential policies set to expire in 2022 and, in the first half of this year, introduced 13 such measures in two batches, extending and refining existing incentives. Building on this foundation, and drawing on insights gathered during thematic education campaigns, they have meticulously reviewed, quantified, assessed, and rigorously analyzed each tax and fee policy slated to expire over the next two years, putting forward recommendations for extension, optimization, refinement, and innovation. At the same time, they have undertaken a comprehensive inventory of currently effective tax and fee preferential policies, refined policy categorization, and strengthened analysis and evaluation of implementation outcomes. Focusing on key areas of high-quality development—such as advanced manufacturing and technological innovation—the authorities have proposed more than ten reserve policy initiatives and tax‑system reform measures. Furthermore, they extended the eligibility period for the additional deduction of R&D expenses to include the July corporate income tax provisional filing period, enabling 308,000 enterprises nationwide to claim this benefit ahead of schedule that month, resulting in tax reductions and exemptions totaling RMB 236 billion. This not only significantly eased the fiscal burden on businesses but also helped them access these incentives more promptly, thereby accelerating their transformation and upgrading.
Efforts are being focused on strengthening and refining the mechanisms for implementing tax and fee preferential policies. The tax system operates under a dual leadership framework—primarily overseen by the State Taxation Administration, with concurrent guidance from the Party committees and governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities—providing robust institutional safeguards for policy execution. However, given the multi-tiered structure—from the State Taxation Administration down to provincial, municipal, and county-level tax authorities, and further to tax sub‑bureaus and service stations—the challenge of ensuring that these policies are implemented without compromise, promptly, and efficiently across the entire chain—from the “first mile” to the “last mile”—requires sustained and intensified efforts. To address this, the tax authorities have adopted a coordinated, whole‑system approach to implementing tax and fee preferential policies, treating it as a top‑priority initiative and advancing it in a solid, step‑by‑step manner. Drawing extensively on experience gained in recent years from rolling out large‑scale tax refunds, reductions, and fee cuts, they have swiftly established leading groups at every level to oversee policy implementation, promptly set up dedicated task forces, and continuously reinforced core teams. They have also refined a “top‑down” implementation mechanism that extends from the State Taxation Administration through provincial, municipal, and county tax authorities all the way to sub‑bureaus and service stations. Progress is monitored daily, key tasks are prioritized on a weekly basis, and major work plans are coordinated monthly. At the same time, through rapid response mechanisms and direct liaison points at the grassroots level, issues are systematically collected. For matters of high public concern and concentrated taxpayer demands, clear response guidelines are issued to ensure consistent interpretation and application. As for complex policy questions raised by frontline staff and taxpayers, an innovative “one‑stop‑to‑the‑top” policy‑clarification mechanism has been introduced, with the State Taxation Administration providing unified answers. This approach enhances the authority, precision, and consistency of policy interpretation, thereby ensuring that tax and fee preferential policies are fully and effectively implemented.
Continuously innovating to enhance the effectiveness of tax and fee preferential policies. Taxpayers and payers not only hope that the state will introduce a series of such policies, but also aspire to access them conveniently and efficiently. In the 10th consecutive year of its “Spring Breeze Action for Convenient Tax Services,” the tax authorities have successively compiled various guidance documents, including the “Guidance on Tax Policies Supporting Employment and Entrepreneurship among College Graduates and Other Young People,” the “Guidance on Tax and Fee Policies Supporting Shared Development,” and the “Guidance on Tax and Fee Policies Supporting the Development of Small and Micro Enterprises and Individual Business Households (Version 1.0).” They have also promptly enriched the knowledge base of the 12366 taxpayer service hotline, helping taxpayers and payers understand applicable policies. Furthermore, with taxpayer and payer convenience as the core, they have launched a series of innovative measures to streamline procedures, reduce required documentation, shorten processing times, and lower costs. In earnest implementation of the “Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Sound Development and Growth of the Private Sector,” the focus has been squarely on the needs of the vast number of small, medium, and micro enterprises and individual business households—whose vitality is underpinned by the private sector. Accordingly, the fifth batch of 28 measures under this year’s “Spring Breeze Action” was specifically introduced, placing the further strengthening of policy implementation at the forefront and ensuring that newly issued preferential policies are more effectively and meticulously put into practice. At the same time, greater emphasis has been placed on leveraging digital technologies; in tandem with smart tax initiatives, the level of intelligence in tax and fee services continues to rise. For instance, building on earlier releases of the “Optimization and Upgrading Plan for Precise Delivery of Tax and Fee Policies” and the “Provisional Work Standards for Precise Delivery of Tax and Fee Policies,” and in response to the recent surge in policy announcements—characterized by a wide range of sectors and diverse eligible entities—the national unified tax and fee preferential policy tagging system has been continuously refined. A tailored “one policy, one plan” approach has been developed, utilizing tax‑related big data to automatically identify and match beneficiaries across industries, regions, enterprise types, and personal statuses, thereby enabling end‑to‑end, progressive, and differentiated precision delivery on a one‑to‑one basis. The goal is to ensure that policies reach the right people and arrive directly at their doorsteps, so that policy benefits can be swiftly and fully realized. Between August and September this year, precise policy delivery has already been rolled out in batches, reaching over 300 million taxpayer and payer instances. Meanwhile, the functionality of information systems such as the electronic tax bureau has been continuously upgraded and improved, providing automated prompts and reminders for handling matters, pre‑filling relevant data, and other conveniences. These enhancements help taxpayers automatically calculate tax reductions and exemptions, accelerating the effective implementation of policies.
We are taking stringent preventive measures and enforcing the law rigorously to ensure that tax and fee preferential policies are implemented with precision. During policy implementation, some unlawful actors have resorted to various schemes to fraudulently obtain tax and fee benefits, seriously undermining market order and jeopardizing national tax revenue security. While officely ensuring the effective delivery of these preferential policies, tax authorities are also strengthening enforcement risk management and cracking down on tax-related violations. On the one hand, in light of the specific characteristics of tax and fee policies, we leverage tax‑related big data to focus on risks such as taxpayers and payers who fail to claim entitled benefits or improperly receive them—particularly cases of illegal tax fraud. We conduct targeted research to refine risk‑control indicators, continuously enhance anomaly detection, risk analysis, and precise identification, and adopt tailored, effective response measures to ensure that policy dividends reach compliant, eligible business entities. On the other hand, we are exploring, implementing, and further expanding a five‑pronged strategy—“expedited tax refunds, vigorous crackdowns on fraudulent claims, rigorous investigations into internal errors, welcoming external oversight, and sustained public awareness”—while fully leveraging the regular joint‑action mechanism with public security, procuratorial, judicial, customs, People’s Bank of China, and foreign exchange administration agencies to combat false invoicing and tax fraud. This approach not only severely punishes tax‑related crimes such as improper benefit claims and fraudulent tax evasion but also holds tax officials accountable for dereliction of duty, negligence, or misconduct through strict investigations. By promptly publicizing high‑profile cases, we resolutely prevent policy “red envelopes” from ending up in the pockets of unlawful elements. From August to September this year, tax authorities at all levels have disclosed 42 cases of tax‑related criminal offenses and 6 cases involving internal staff misconduct or dereliction of duty, effectively serving as a cautionary reminder that “investigating one case deters many,” thereby providing robust support for the swift, accurate, and stable implementation of preferential policies.
III. Make every effort to ensure the effective implementation of tax and fee preferential policies.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized the need to foster a strong momentum of rigorous implementation and to ensure the full and faithful execution of the CPC Central Committee’s decisions and arrangements. For the tax authorities, it is both a weighty responsibility and a glorious mission to extend, refine, improve, and effectively implement tax and fee reduction policies. We must further study and apply the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches, accurately assess the current economic situation in China, and make the extension, refinement, improvement, and effective implementation of these policies a key task in the second phase of thematic education. We should continuously enhance administrative efficiency and spare no effort to ensure that all preferential policies are continually optimized and take office root in practice.
Further refine the working mechanisms. Fully leverage the leading and coordinating role of the Office of the Leading Group for Implementing Tax and Fee Preferential Policies under the State Taxation Administration, systematically develop task lists, clearly define specific tasks, responsible units, and deadlines, and adopt visual management and checklist‑based progress tracking to ensure the orderly execution of policy formulation, precise delivery, system maintenance, and other related work. Continuously improve the four‑tiered, interconnected mechanism for policy implementation—spanning the national, provincial, municipal, and county levels—strengthening the principal responsibility of Party committees at all tax authorities for policy execution, promoting the establishment of dedicated task forces with adequate staffing, promptly collecting and feeding back issues encountered in policy implementation, and ensuring the smooth operation of all working mechanisms. Integrate the implementation of tax and fee preferential policies with the in-depth, practical second phase of thematic education within the tax system, with efforts to bolster the political functions of county‑level tax authorities, and with the development of “Fengqiao‑style” tax offices (tax sub‑bureaus and taxpayer service halls) for the new era. Use the tangible outcomes of policy implementation as a key benchmark for assessing concrete progress across all fronts, and ensure that the pressure to implement policies is effectively cascaded down to the grassroots level. Make the implementation of tax and fee preferential policies a priority in tax system inspections, audits, and supervisory oversight, incorporate it into tax performance evaluations, and conduct comprehensive assessments—through both open and undercover visits—to gain a thorough understanding of policy implementation, thereby ensuring the sustained and meticulous execution of these preferential measures.
Further enhance tax and fee‑related services. Upholding the people‑centered development philosophy, we will continue to implement all measures under the “Spring Breeze Action for Convenient Tax Services,” with particular emphasis on the rollout of the fifth batch of 28 new initiatives. We will keep innovating and introducing tailored, personalized service measures, further streamline procedures for handling tax and fee matters, and continuously refine and optimize the functions of the electronic tax bureau, enabling taxpayers and payers to access preferential policies without leaving their homes. We will also intensify efforts to publicize and explain policies, ensuring that taxpayers and payers are fully informed about and can fully benefit from all relevant measures, while fostering a more favorable public‑opinion environment for policy implementation. In addition, we will steadily upgrade our precision‑targeted outreach efforts. In response to newly introduced tax and fee incentives, we will promptly refine and deploy customized, precision‑driven push strategies, better aligning preferential policies with eligible beneficiaries. By tailoring content and delivery methods to each business entity, we aim to achieve finer granularity and higher reach in our targeted communications, striving to make “policy‑to‑person” outreach faster and more accurate.
In accordance with the unified deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, China’s tax‑exemption policy for the purchase of new‑energy vehicles will be extended through the end of 2027. We will further deepen our analysis of policy impacts, making sustained and in‑depth use of tax‑related big data to assess the effects of tax and fee reductions, produce more high‑quality analytical reports, and better demonstrate the tangible results of these measures. This will provide valuable guidance for Party and government leaders at all levels and enable us to promptly deliver “benefit statements” to taxpayers and payers, thereby enhancing their sense of gain from the policies. At the same time, taking policy impact analysis as a starting point, we will continuously identify shortcomings in the implementation of tax and fee reduction measures. By integrating insights from economic and fiscal developments, we will conduct thorough research into the challenges confronting the tax system and preferential policies, and work closely with relevant departments to refine and improve these policies. We will also closely monitor the economic landscape, particularly changes in the external environment, focusing on promoting high‑quality development. From a higher level, across broader dimensions, and with a wider perspective, we will systematically strengthen our policy‑reserve studies, actively formulate more effective tax‑reform proposals and policy recommendations, and further enrich our macro‑regulatory toolkit, providing stronger support to better address various risks and challenges.
Further strengthen risk prevention and control. Continuously deepen and expand the application of work strategies such as the “Five‑Pronged Approach,” further refining the mechanisms for implementing tax and fee preferential policies while effectively managing risks. This entails robust external risk management alongside stringent internal safeguards, ensuring that both fronts are addressed with equal rigor. On the one hand, we will intensify efforts to crack down on fraud and illicit benefit‑seeking, further improving and perfecting risk‑control indicators to swiftly detect and promptly respond to all forms of fraudulent claims for tax and fee concessions. In particular, leveraging the joint mechanism among seven departments to combat tax‑related illegal and criminal activities, we will coordinate operations, launch targeted enforcement actions, and reinforce regular public exposure and deterrence, maintaining a high‑pressure stance against tax‑related offenses and upholding a fair, law‑based market environment. On the other hand, we will make “strict investigation of internal errors” more effective by adopting an inward‑looking approach, fully mobilizing the supervisory roles of disciplinary inspection, Party building, and oversight and auditing bodies to ensure proactive oversight. We will integrate this rigorous scrutiny into every stage of policy implementation, holding tax officials accountable through strict supervision, discipline, and accountability for inaction, sluggish performance, or dereliction of duty. For tax officials who collude with external parties or conspire to defraud taxpayers of their entitled benefits, we will pursue swift, decisive, and substantive investigations and sanctions, ensuring that the dividends of tax and fee reductions are delivered to taxpayers and payers in a more efficient and high‑quality manner.

LITIGATION & ARBITRATION
The Ministry of Justice has released guiding cases on legal aid work.
Since the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Legal Aid came into effect on January 1, 2022, judicial administrative organs and legal aid institutions at all levels have conscientiously implemented the provisions of the law, adhered to lawful case handling, provided attentive services, continuously improved the quality of their work, and strived to ensure that the people experience fairness and justice in every legal aid case. To fully leverage the guiding and exemplary role of typical cases, on September 27, 2023, the Ministry of Justice released four model cases: “The Legal Aid Center of Bagongshan District, Huainan City, Anhui Province, Providing Legal Aid to Yang in a Case Seeking Declaration of Incapacity for Civil Conduct”; “The Legal Aid Center of Fengjie County, Chongqing Municipality, Providing Legal Aid in a Child Support Dispute Involving Minor Haohao”; “The Legal Aid Center of Longjiang County, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, Providing Legal Aid to Ma, a Woman Subjected to Domestic Violence”; and “The Legal Aid Center of Fengrun District, Tangshan City, Hebei Province, Providing Legal Aid to Li in a Tort Claim for Compensation Arising from a Traffic Accident.” These cases demonstrate the positive outcomes achieved by legal aid in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the public in accordance with the law, while also offering replicable, scalable, and instructive best practices for legal aid practitioners, thereby promoting the standardized development of legal aid work.
The cases released this time focus on matters such as applications for a declaration of incapacity, disputes over child support, divorce proceedings involving women who have suffered domestic violence, and compensation for damages arising from traffic accidents. The beneficiaries include persons with disabilities, minors, women, and the elderly, demonstrating how legal aid, as an important institutional mechanism of the state, provides care and protection to those facing particular hardships. Throughout the handling of these cases, legal aid agencies, in light of the specific circumstances, have implemented convenient and people‑friendly measures—such as activating green‑channel procedures and waiving the requirement to verify applicants’ financial need—in accordance with the law, thereby ensuring that beneficiaries receive timely, accessible, high‑quality, and efficient services. This fully reflects the value of legal aid in winning public trust and improving people’s livelihoods.
Through the release of this case, we hope that judicial administrative organs and legal aid institutions at all levels will further implement Xi Jinping’s Thought on the Rule of Law, remain committed to a people-centered approach, uphold the principle of justice for the people, and faithfully enforce the provisions of the Legal Aid Law, handling more cases in accordance with the law and ensuring that each case is handled effectively, so that legal aid can benefit a wider segment of the population.

Typical Cases of Jiangsu Courts Supporting the High-Quality Development of the Private Economy
To further leverage the exemplary and guiding role of typical cases, the Jiangsu Provincial Higher People’s Court has released a batch of model cases from courts across the province that support the high-quality development of the private sector.
Among the cases released this time, there are instances in which the people’s courts have flexibly employed judicial mediation to appropriately resolve disputes between private and state-owned enterprises, as well as among private enterprises; others demonstrate the courts’ adherence to a principle of good‑faith and civilized adjudication, effectively minimizing the impact of litigation on businesses’ production and operations; and still others highlight the courts’ full utilization of the bankruptcy system to successfully rescue insolvent enterprises.

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