Weekly policy snapshot of Chinese economy

BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The following are the key moves taken by policymakers in the past week to enhance China's economic strength and sustainability:

-- Local government bonds available over the counter at commercial banks

China's individual and small- and medium-sized institutional investors have been allowed to purchase local government bonds over the counter at commercial banks, according to the Ministry of Finance.

A statement from the ministry said that the public offering of general and special bonds by local governments can both be made over the counter. Special bonds, however, will be prioritized so as to stabilize investment, expand domestic demand and strengthen the weak links of economic performance.

-- Lower social insurance fee rates

China's State Council made arrangements Tuesday on reducing social insurance fee rates and clarified specific supporting measures.

According to the government work report delivered to the annual national legislative session earlier this month, China will cut the share of enterprise contributions to urban workers' basic old-age insurance from 20 percent to 16 percent, starting from May 1.

-- Streamlining construction project approval

China's State Council has released a guideline on reform of the construction project approval system, with the goal of sharply reducing approval time.

The country will reduce the time needed for approving construction projects to within 120 work days, in the first half of this year, according to the guideline issued by the General Office of the State Council. This is a dramatic cut from the previous more than 200 work days.

-- Tougher policies on new energy vehicles (NEVs)

Chinese authorities on Tuesday unveiled tougher policies for subsidizing the purchases of NEVs to push for the sector's high-quality development.

The Ministry of Finance said in a joint statement that the threshold of technological requirements has been "moderately raised" to support producers with advanced technology, reliable product quality and high safety standards.

-- Lower value-added tax (VAT) rates for import firms

China's customs will significantly cut VAT rates for its import enterprises in 2019, the latest move to reduce the financial burden of enterprises.

The total VAT reduction in imports will reach around 225 billion yuan (about 33.5 billion U.S. dollars) this year, after the implementation of lower VAT rates on April 1, according to the General Administration of Customs.

-- First joint venture (JV) to access pension insurance business

China has given permission to a JV to establish a pension insurance company in the country, making it the first JV that has gained access to this sector.

The JV, Heng An Standard Life, was formed in 2003 and is 50-50 owned by Scotland-headquartered Standard Life Aberdeen and Tianjin TEDA International at the end of 2018.

-- Go-ahead for securities JVs

China's top securities regulator said Friday that it had approved J.P. Morgan and Nomura to set up respective securities joint ventures in the country. Last year, the two companies both applied to set up securities joint ventures, in which each will hold a 51-percent stake.

The move was part of the country's efforts to expand opening-up of its securities sector, said the China Securities Regulatory Commission.