Business Briefs

1st E-commerce Law on Anvil China has completed a draft version of its first e-commerce law to guide the sectors sound development， a lawmaker said. The draft will be submitted to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National Peoples Congress （NPC）， the top legislature， for review， said Uzhitu， Vice Chairman of the committee. After that， it will go to the NPC Standing Committee for further discussion， Uzhitu said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session on March 10. The legislation is necessary to deal with new problems in data protection and infringements upon customersinterests.

Chinese Currency Stabilizing The Chinese currency has started to return to its normal and reasonable level after volatility and the trend will continue， Zhou Xiaochuan， Governor of the Peoples Bank of China， Chinas central bank， said. The yuan had been heading south since the government revamped the foreign exchange mechanism last year， and there had been rising concern about capital outflows. The Chinese authorities have said there is no basis for continued weakness of the yuan. The government will not seek to boost exports through competitive devaluation. Zhou attributed the previous depreciation to concerns about a slowing Chinese economy and market jitters caused by easing policies in Europe and Japan.

Energy Structure Optimized Chinas energy intensity， the amount of energy consumed per unit of GDP， has been decreasing at an accelerating pace. In 2015， it declined 5.6 percent from the previous year. In 2014， the dip was 4.8 percent and in 2013， 3.7 percent， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said in March. Coal accounted for 64 percent of the primary energy use last year， down 4.5 percentage points from 2012， as the government is pushing for cleaner and greener growth. “The data shows Chinas energy structure is becoming more diversified and optimized，” the NBS said. China aims to increase the share of non-fossil fuel in national consumption to 15 percent by 2020 and 20 percent by 2030. Coal consumption will be limited to 62 percent of energy use by 2020.

Boost for Express Delivery Service The quality and efficiency of Chinas postal services express deliveries will be improved in five years， a senior official said. The postal service is anticipated to handle 50 billion express parcels annually by 2020 and the sector will provide more than 1 million new jobs， Ma Junsheng， head of the State Post Bureau， said on March 6. The express delivery segment has grown steadily despite a slowing economy. A total of 20.65 billion parcels were delivered in 2015， up 48 percent from 2014. Courier services had covered 70 percent of Chinese towns and villages by 2015. China plans an efficient and safe delivery system with nationwide coverage， advanced technology and services， and international connections by 2020.

Banking Gets Smart Banking institutions in China have entered a new era of smart financing， making innovations by integrating Internet technologies. A report released by the China Banking Association lists a number of ways in which banks have been deploy- ing smart technologies in their daily operations. The Bank of Communications introduced smart robots to help assistant managers at the branch level receive clients， provide consultation and direct them to relevant windows. By the end of 2015， China had 224，000 bank branches， including 7，270 providing smart banking services. Self-serving banks exceeded 170，000， with nearly 830，000 selfserving devices， the report released in March said.

Lower Entry Barrier China will lower the entry barrier for foreign investors and speed up the revision of relevant laws， Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said. China will further relax restrictive measures on foreign investors and encourage them to invest in the hi-tech， green， and service industries， where domestic supply falls short， Shen said at a press conference in March. China will also speed up the revision of regulations on foreign investment， with a specific law to be enacted， Shen said. CA