China to strengthen financing support for Belt and Road Initiative

BEIJING — China will strengthen financing and tax support to better serve the Belt and Road Initiative, a deputy finance minister said on March 7.

The Ministry of Finance is forming an international financing cooperation center in a bid to build a long-term, stable, sustainable, risk-controllable and diversified financing system, Shi Yaobin told a news conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s national legislature.

The ministry will continue to push forward bilateral and multilateral tariff negotiations to promote the building of free trade areas, promote mutual opening up, and soundly implement the tariff concession agreements already signed with countries along the routes.

China will facilitate international tax coordination and cooperation, contribute to eliminating discrimination in tax policymaking and implementation, while encouraging more countries to participate in the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit shifting) project, Shi said.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to seek common development and prosperity.

So far, the initiative has gained support from over 100 countries and international organizations, according to Shi.