Local financing vehicles become central to stimulus delivery

Revised tax rules prepared a shift from production-type toward consumption-type VAT, allowing deductions for equipment purchases from 2009. The change lowered firms’ tax costs and supported...

The VAT reform took effect nationwide, reducing the tax burden on equipment purchases and encouraging modernization. It supported productivity and recovery, but investment incentives did not...

The plan promised broader basic health coverage, public health services and more accessible care. It responded to the commercialization and uneven quality of health provision, but implementation and...

The pilot allowed selected firms to settle cross-border trade in renminbi, reducing reliance on foreign currencies and extending China’s financial reach. Internationalization remained managed and...

The pilot introduced a basic old-age pension for rural residents, funded through public subsidy and individual contributions. It extended social protection beyond formal urban employment, but...

China completed its principal scheduled tariff-reduction commitments, lowering the overall tariff level from its 2001 position. The change consolidated trade integration and competition, while leaving...

The central bank announced a return to managed flexibility after the crisis-era peg. The move responded to domestic recovery and international pressure, while retaining control over the exchange...

The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement reduced tariffs and opened selected services between the two sides. It connected cross-strait economic ties to political questions of sovereignty, while...

New annual data confirmed that China’s economy had overtaken Japan’s by nominal GDP. The milestone reflected decades of state-led investment, export manufacturing and labor mobilization, but aggregate...

The law consolidated basic pension, medical, unemployment, work-injury and maternity insurance rules. It formalized a broader social-protection framework, but portability, funding and access...