The Chinese government on Friday unveiled 11 measures to help Taiwanese businesses operating in China combat COVID-19 and resume production.
The move came ahead of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) inauguration on Wednesday and on the heels of Beijing’s announcement on Thursday that it would begin a two-and-a-half-month live-fire military drill in the Bohai Sea.
Beijing rolled out 31 measures ahead of Taiwan’s local elections in 2018, and another 26 prior to the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11.
Chinese authorities have described them as “incentives.”
Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the latest measures were listed in a document printed and shared among 10 agencies, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Taiwan Affairs Office.
The measures are aimed at helping Taiwanese businesses resume operations and production after COVID-19 shutdowns, extend their reach in the Chinese market, and benefit from tax deductions and exemption policies.
China also promises to provide businesses with land for their operations, as long as the space requested is reasonable, and to increase subsidies to help them prevent COVID-19.
The measures read more like policy statements than feasible plans, the Mainland Affairs Council said, calling on China to understand the challenges facing Taiwanese firms wanting to stay safe amid the pandemic and resume production rather than pay lip service or be used to boost China’s own development.
In response to the economic effects of COVID-19, most Taiwanese firms have been stepping up efforts to relocate production to mitigate risks, the council said, adding that the government would continue to offer businesses benefits to redirect their investments to the nation or repatriate the profits they made in China.
The government would continue to follow the COVID-19 situation in China and assist Taiwanese firms there, it said.
Beijing’s intention behind the measures is to convince businesses that China’s economy has remained robust, thus curbing an exodus of Taiwanese firms, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
Since Chinese factories have resumed operations, the number of orders they have received from overseas has slumped, which has hurt its economy and contributed to its first-ever negative GDP figure, at minus-6.8 percent for the first quarter, the source said.
Beijing clinging to Taiwanese firms highlights its flagging economy, the source added.
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