【财经看点】国务院“组合拳”引高端消费回流

China's State Council Unveils Tax Measures to Boost Consumption The State Council, China's cabinet, has outlined a series of tax policies to fuel domestic consumption and promote the export of consumer goods. Before June, import tariffs on certain goods that have high domestic demand will be reduced and the varieties of imports that enjoy tax reductions will be gradually expanded. Consumption tax policies on mass consumer goods such as clothing and cosmetics will be improved along with tax reforms. More duty-free shops at ports of entry will be opened with a higher purchasing cap for individual tourists and a greater variety of products. Meanwhile, foreign consumers will enjoy more convenient customs clearance and tax rebate policies. The making of inspection and quarantine policies that facilitate import by cross-border E-commerce companies will be supported, with unreasonable charges on imports being removed. For more on the tax policies, CRI's Zhao Yang earlier spoke with Einar Tangen, Former Chairman of the State of Wisconsin's International Trade Council. … Back anchor: That was Einar Tangen, Former Chairman of the State of Wisconsin's International Trade Council, speaking with CRI's Zhao Yang. AIIB Founding Members Conclude Fourth Round of Consultations in Beijing Senior government officials from fifty-seven founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have concluded discussions of the bank's charter in the latest round of consultation meeting. The founding members are expected to sign the charter by the end of June. China's Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin says the legal adoption process will start after the signing of the charter. "After signing the charter of AIIB, representatives of founding members will bring charter back to their country to go through legal adoption processes. After the legal adoption process, a certain number of countries will agree or adopt the charter. After that, AIIB will start operation as a bank in a legal term. We are planning to finish this process before the end of 2015. That means, we are looking forward to operation of AIIB at the end of 2015." The next round of consultation meetings will be held at the end of this month. There is still Room for Telecom Cost Reduction: MIIT Official The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says China is looking to great improve its 4G network so as to speed up data transmission and cut telecom service charges. Data released by the ministry shows 4G clients increased about 60 million in the first quarter of this year. Wen Ku, a ministry official in charge of telecommunications, expects the number of 4G users in China to reach 250 million by the end of the year. He adds that there is much room for further reduction of telecom costs. "The telecom charges in 2014 dropped by 60 percent compared with 2011, and the broad band charges went down by 30 percent. However, those declines have yet to reach a level 'satisfying to clients'. In general, the high charges are affected by many factors. In line with the law of the market, inadequate market supply is the main reason. Investment last year in 4G has yet to make full returns and as you all know, there is still big room for cost cutting." The improving 4G and Internet infrastructure has been a boon to China's 74 listed Internet firms, whose aggregate market capitalization has reached 4 trillion yuan or over 644 billion U.S. dollars. By the end of March, China had nearly 1.3 billion mobile phone subscribers, up 3.6 percent year on year. China Steel Production Drops in Q1 Latest statistics released by the China Iron and Steel Association shows that the country produced less steel in the first quarter of this year. The output of crude steel in the first quarter slipped 1.7 percent from a year ago to just over two hundred million tonnes The amount accounts for slightly more than half of the world's total output. Meanwhile, steel prices continued to drop and inventories of steel mills kept piling high.