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China has issued a plan on implementing pilot reforms in Shenzhen to build the city into a demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the next five years.

 

In a highly anticipated move, China’s central authorities released detailed measures on Sunday which aim to build Shenzhen, a city neighboring Hong Kong, into a socialist demonstration area in the next five years, underscoring the country’s determination of further opening-up amid growing external pressure, as well as its ambition of integrating its reform pioneer deeper into a greater bay area. 

 

Supporting Shenzhen, in South China’s Guangdong Province, to pilot the comprehensive authorized reform measures is another significant step to advance the city’s opening-up in the new era and a key move in building a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics, said the document jointly issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on Sunday.  

 

 

The city, granted with greater autonomy in the reform of important areas and key links, will advance higher-level reform and opening-up towards higher goals, according to the plan set for the 2020-2025 period. 

 

A series of measures came along with the document such as: 

• Further relax market access for foreign capital on cutting-edge technologies; 
• Establish a special negative list for the city; 
• Further open up in sectors including energy, telecoms, public utilities, transport and education, among others; 
• Further expand opening-up in the financial and shipping sectors; 
• Encourage qualified foreign financial institutions to set up companies engaged in securities, fund management; 
• Allow qualified foreign investment institutions to obtain payment business licenses in Shenzhen in accordance with the law. 

The detailed policies came more than a year after the central government first announced on August 18, 2019 that it intended to build Shenzhen into a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

 

 

The new policies were released as locals celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ). As China’s first SEZ, the economic miracle of the southern Chinese city has become inspiring and meaningful, which is expected to be a role model for the rest of the country. 

 

Also, over the past year when its neighboring city the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) had experienced unprecedented social turmoil, whether Shenzhen could replace it as a new financial hub was occasionally discussed among academics, investors and residents from both sides. 

 

Particularly, at the celebration activities for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Shenzhen SEZ in late August, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, attended the opening ceremony of the seventh land port on the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border, which was interpreted as acknowledging closer links between the two cities, experts said. 

 

 

Instead of being replaced by one another, Shenzhen, along with the HKSAR and Macao SAR, are believed to be key players which will inject new growth momentum for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, according to experts. 

 

 

More opening-up measures, including a unique negative list for market access especially for the city, will give further impetus and growth potential to what is already the most open and vibrant economic jurisdiction in China, an expert told the Global Times. 

 

“Even if in the future such models are adopted by other cities, Shenzhen will still attain its special strengths with the differentiators such as its unique negative list for market access,” he said. 

 

 

As part of the financial opening-up, the new document indicates support for the internal closed pilot test of the digital renminbi and the development and application of the digital currency and international cooperation, when the city is scheduled to distribute 10 million yuan ($1.49 million) to its residents in the form of digital currency starting October 12.

 

Related article: Digital RMB is Coming! Shenzhen Trials it with Lottery 

 

“This indicates that China will enhance international cooperation in digital currency in the future, and that it will conduct a wider range of digital currency tests if the trial goes well,” according to Chen Bo, director of the Finance Research Center at the Institute of Finance and Economics at the Central University of Finance and Economics. 

 

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SOURCE | China Gov / Xinhua / Global Times

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Shenzhen announced on Thursday that the government and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will jointly launch a digital currency trial program. Those who are in Shenzhen can take part in a lottery of digital currency red packets. 

 

Major Chinese commercial banks in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, have started testing the application of the central bank-backed digital currency for months. Now the government plans to further promote the use of digital RMB.

 

On Thursday, the Shenzhen municipal government announced on Weibo that a digital currency trial program will be launched. It is a regular test in the process of research and development of the digital Chinese yuan. 

 

 

The local government allows individuals in Shenzhen to take part in a lottery of 50,000 digital currency red packets totaling 10 million yuan ($1.49 million). The value of each red packet is 200 yuan. 

 

According to some media reports, the program is open to those who are in Shenzhen when they register, and allows them to register with their mobile phone numbers and identification cards. 

 

△ Screenshot of successfully registering

 

Winners of the drawing will receive text messages giving instructions on how to download a digital yuan application, open a personal digital wallet and receive their red packets. 

 

From 6 pm, Oct 12 to 12 am, Oct 19, winners can pay by digital currency red packets — in the same as paying in cash — at 3,389 merchants in Luohu district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Having completed modifications for a digital yuan system, the merchants include supermarkets, retailers, restaurants and lifestyle services providers. 

 

FAQs

 

• How to register and take part in the lottery? 

Scan the following QR code follow the official WeChat account of “i深圳’ to enter the registration page.

 

△ Long-press the pic to scan the QR code and enter the registration page

 

△ Long-press the pic above to scan the QR code and follow the official WeChat account of “i深圳”

 

• What are the conditions of registration? 

Those who register to take part in the lottery must meet both conditions as follows:

1. Being in the administrative region of Shenzhen (including the Shenzhen-Shantou Special Cooperation Zone) when registering;
   
2. Register with the mainland phone number and the second-generation ID card. 

• Are migrant residents working in Shenzhen allowed to register? 

Yes, as long as they meet the conditions mentioned above.

 

• Can those who are in the same family register at the same time?

Yes. Family members meeting conditions can register as individuals. 

 

• Will I get the digital RMB red packet once after registration? 

After the registration, you need to take part in a lottery. Winners of the drawing will receive text messages giving instructions on how to download a digital yuan application, open a personal digital wallet and receive their red packets. 

 

• When to register? 

The registration platform has been open since 0 am, Oct 9, 2020. Individuals in Shenzhen can register anytime before 8 am, Oct 11, 2020.

 

• Are the red packets issued in batches? 

No. In this trial program, 50,000 digital RMB red packets will be sent at a time through drawing, which means that each individual who successfully registered has only one chance to win the lottery. 

 

• How to check the result of the drawing? 

Winners of the drawing will receive the winning text messages. They can also check the result through the “i深圳” app or its official WeChat account. 

• How to receive the red packets? 

The text messages will give instructions on receiving the digital RMB red packets. Winners can click the link within the message, following the instructions to download a digital yuan application, open a personal digital wallet and receive the red packets. 

 

They can also check the drawing result and the instructions via the “i深圳” app and its official WeChat account. 

 

• Can I use the red packet directly after receiving it? 

 

Yes. The red packet can be used freely at 3,389 merchants that have completed the digital RMB system modification in Luohu district. It’s just like using cash. 

 

The merchants include supermarkets, retailers, restaurants and lifestyle services providers. 

 

If you have any questions during the registration, you can call the government hotline 0755-12345 or the service hotline of the program organizer 4001391000.

 

It is reported that China’s central bank digital currency has been used in 3.13 million transactions worth about 1.1 billion yuan ($162 million) so far. Check the following link to know more about it! 

 

• Bye Bye Alipay and WeChat Pay! Digital RMB’s Coming! 

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SOURCE | 21 世纪经济报道 / China Daily

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It is reported that Hong Kong will relax cross border travel when the COVID-19 outbreak situation stabilizes. Quarantine-free travel may be allowed soon! Let’s check the updates and details. 

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government is planning to introduce “health code” system that allows quarantine-free travel among Hong Kong, Guangdong province and Macao SAR when Hong Kong’s COVID-19 outbreak situation stabilizes. 

 

Matthew Cheung, chief secreatry for administration of the HKSAR government, said on Sunday in his blog that Hong Kong is discussing with the mainland and Macao to allow holders of certifications of negative result of the nucleic acid test on COVID-19 to be exempted from compulsory quarantine on arrival in the three places under the “health code” system. 

 

 

This arrangement, however, will only be implemented when the epidemic stabilizes in Hong Kong, Cheung said, adding that the HKSAR government will continue to take preventive and control measures with caution and the public are urged to stay vigilant in face of the epidemic. 

 

Meanwhile, the HKSAR government is studying to allow Hong Kong residents from mainland who possess related certifications to be exempted from compulsory quarantine, which has entered the final stage, Cheung said.

 

To get prepared for the fourth wave of the epidemic which may appear in winter, the construction of quarantine facilities in Hong Kong is in full swing. 

 

 

Michael Wong, secretary for development of the HKSAR government, said on Sunday in his blog that after the first phase of Penny’s Bay quarantine camp in the New Territories was put into operation in mid-July, the construction of the second phase was completed in mid-September. 

 

Wong said that the construction work of the third and fourth phases are progressing smoothly and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020, when the total number of quarantine unites in Hong Kong will exceed 4,000. 

 

 

The HKSAR government has also commenced construction of a temporary hospital and community treatment facility, with the support of the central government. The additional facility to be set up at AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE), a venue near the Hong Kong International Airport, is expected to be completed within several weeks. 

 

We will keep following the topic. If you want to know more about latest measures and policies on traveling to China,, please feel free to contact HACOS. 

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SOURCE | Xinhua

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China has designated three pilot areas to regulate cash transactions in large amounts. Hebei has started the pilot program in July, and from Oct 10, Zhejiang province and Shenzhen city are going to start. Let’s take a review of the measures and learn more details. 

The Chinese central bank PBOC has launched large-sum cash management trials in northern China’s Hebei province, as part of a two-year pilot scheme that will also involve Hangzhou and Shenzhen. 

 

We have introduced the pilot program in our previous article, you can click here to read it. 

 

 

The Hebei trials involve the imposition of cash management requirements starting from 100,000 yuan for personal accounts and 500,000 yuan for business accounts. 

 

This means that whenever individuals make cash withdrawals of 100,000 yuan or more, or institutions make cash withdrawals of 500,000 yuan or more, they will need to make appointments and registration in advance. 

 

They will also be required to clearly note the usage of the withdrawals and the sources of deposits, as well as enter this information into a large-sum cash management system. 

 

“In actual life, a 100,000 yuan starting point for large-sum cash management of private accounts will not markedly affect the daily economic activity of the public,” said a PBOC representative in Shijiazhuang as reported. 

 

 

Following the launch of trials in Hebei, they will be extended to Zhejiang province and Shenzhen municipality starting from October 10. 

 

The thresholds of cash management for business accounts in Zhejiang and Shenzhen are also 500,000 yuan, while the thresholds for personal accounts are respectively 300,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan. 

 

In addition, Zhejiang has further regulated and restricted large-sum cash transactions of four industries, including wholesale and retail industry, automotive industry, real estate industry, as well as building and construction industry.

 

It is reported that the government has set the top limits of accumulative large-sum cash withdrawals per day for the above-mentioned industries as follows: 

 

• Wholesale and retail industry – 600,000 yuan 
• Automotive industry – 600,000 yuan 
• Real estate industry – 1,500,000 yuan 
• Building and construction industry – 3,000,000 yuan 

If the cash withdrawal exceeds the limit, bank will not process in principle. For those who need to withdraw money over the limit, they are required to submit materials proving the purpose of withdrawals. 

 

Anyway, the regulations will not significantly affect normal daily economic acitivities as multiple payment alternatives are readily available. 

 

But if you are doing business in China and looking for solutions to handle transactions in a more convenient way, please feel free to contact HACOS. 

In order to help you reach the latest update on the global pandemic situation, HACOS has set a quick link on the menu of our WeChat page. Follow us, you can check it whenever you want! 

 

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SOURCE | PBOC / China Banking News / 齐鲁壹点

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