China rolls out fee cuts to boost real economy

BEIJING -- Chinese authorities have rolled out fresh measures to cut fees on transactions and payment services as part of efforts to ease the burdens on market entities and boost the real economy.

Based on surveys of nearly 50,000 small, micro and individual businesses, four government agencies, including the central bank and the top economic planner, introduced 12 fee-cut policies on basic payment services.

The policies, covering areas including bank account services and RMB transactions, will take effect on September 30.

In addition, the People's Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission unveiled measures to reduce cross-bank cash withdrawal fees on automated teller machines (ATMs) to facilitate the use of cash.

According to preliminary estimates, the implementation of the fee reduction measures is expected to reduce the annual fee expenditure for market players and the public by about 24 billion yuan ($3.71 billion), of which more than 66.67 percent will benefit small, micro and individual businesses.

The move will help reduce capital circulation costs, further optimize the business environment, and promote the quality and expansion of consumption, playing a positive role in boosting the high-quality development of the national economy, according to the four government agencies.