Policies on e-commerce, pilot free trade zones

More support pledged for e-commerce

China will scale up measures to support the growth of cross-border e-commerce in a bid to spur the upgrading of domestic industries and boost employment, the State Council decided at an executive meeting on Wednesday.

More cities will be encouraged to launch cross-border e-commerce pilot zones on top of the 35 existing zones nationwide, according to a statement released after the meeting. Retail goods exported from the pilot zones will be exempted from value-added tax, it said, adding that the authorities will introduce simpler methods for verifying and collecting corporate income tax.

Supporting the growth of crossborder e-commerce is an important move in keeping with the new industrial revolution and the upgrading of exports and imports, it said. Those at the meeting also recognized the role of e-commerce in promoting growth of the express delivery industry, creating jobs and boosting innovation and entrepreneurship.

China's imports and exports from cross-border e-commerce were worth 134 billion yuan ($19.5 billion) last year, up 50 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The government will offer incentives for the building of platforms that serve the development of cross-border e-commerce and logistics services, the statement said. More work will be done to establish, improve and expand overseas warehouses, it added.

The meeting also pledged to introduce measures to guide e-commerce platforms to step up the protection of intellectual property rights. Meanwhile, more educational institutions will be encouraged to open related majors to provide the talent needed for the development of e-commerce and logistics services.

The government will continue to make its oversight prudent and accommodating and step up crackdowns on fake products to protect the rights of businesses and consumers. International cooperation will be boosted, and the country will play an active role in the framing of related international regulations, the statement said.