Briefs

E-Commerce Prosperity The e-commerce market in China is expected to grow by about 19 percent year on year in 2017. China has entered “a new retail era” characterized by online and offline （O2O） retail that has created huge potential and demand， especially for customized products， according to a report released by consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The popularity of social media spurs online buying， it said. After years of explosive growth， China has emerged as the worlds largest e-commerce market， equaling the combined size of the next six major markets including the United States， Britain， Japan， Germany， South Korea and France， said the report. Last year， Chinas e-commerce market expanded 19.8 percent year on year to $3.82 trillion， accounting for 39.2 percent of the worlds total， according to Chinas Ministry of Commerce.

Encouraging Sharing Economy A guideline to further boost the blossoming of the sharing economy was approved at a State Council Executive Meeting chaired by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in late June. According to the guideline， the sector will enjoy easier access， greater policy transparency and better protection of legitimate rights of platform companies， resource providers and consumers. The guideline is aimed to create an enabling environment for sustained innovation. “We should give credit to the sharing economy as a reinvigorating force in Chinas economic growth，” said Li. Chinas sharing economy is likely to sustain a 40 percent annual growth momentum in the coming years， according to a report released in February. The report said the market turnover of the countrys sharing economy in 2016 reached 3.45 trillion yuan （$505 billion）， up by 103 percent year on year. In 2016， the sharing economy served around 600 million people in China.

Attracting Foreign Investment From July 28， China began to use a“negative list” management approach for all foreign investment， open up more sectors and further relax restrictions on foreign businesses. China has piloted the approach in some areas. Under the approach， government approvals are not required for most foreign investment and only investment on the “negative list” remains subject to approval. A new foreign investment catalogue， which included the negative list as well as sectors and industries that the government encouraged foreign companies to invest in， also took effect on July 28. As a result， foreign investment now have easier access to Chinas highway passenger transport， processing of certain rare metals， as well as manufacturing of rail transit equipment and cooking oil， among others. Sectors that are off-limits to foreign investors include air traffic control and compulsory education institutes.

Promoting Mass Entrepreneurship Chinas cabinet， the State Council， on July 12 adopted guidelines with detailed measures to boost mass entrepreneurship to achieve innovation-driven growth. China will deepen reforms in innovation-driven development to expand the scope and raise the level of mass entrepreneurship and public innovation， according to a statement released after the State Council Executive Meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. Promotion of mass entrepreneurship and innovation will help boost employment， optimize the economic structure and facilitate a shift of growth engines. The government will streamline management procedures and reduce market barriers to offer efficient services for market players. Meanwhile， China will expand financing channels for startups， encourage industrial upgrading and improve policy support for entrepreneurial and innovative professionals， according to the statement.

Growing Courier Sector Chinas express delivery sector maintained steady growth in the second quarter of 2017 with networks stretching further into less-developed central， western and rural areas. The State Post Bureau （SPB） said on July 11 that the sector generated revenue of more than 120 billion yuan （$17.65 billion） in the AprilJune period， up 27.6 percent year on year， a growth rate around four times of the nations GDP increase. A total of 9.8 billion deliveries were made during the period， up 31.3 percent from a year ago.“The sector maintained its steady trend with improving services and expanding networks，” Geng Yan， market monitoring official with the SPB， said during a press conference. The country plans to extend the courier network and improve computerized systems， services and international connections by 2020. The projected annual revenue of the courier sector will be 800 billion yuan （$118.2 billion） at that time.

Expanding Digital Payment Two of Chinas biggest digital payment services have partnered with the U.S.-based online payment startup Stripe Inc. to increase online shopping options for Chinese customers. Businesses that use Stripe can now accept Alipay and WeChat as payment methods on their websites， according to a statement from Stripe released on July 10. Alipay， part of Ant Financial， an Alibaba Group Holding Inc. affiliate， and WeChat Pay， the payment service of Tencent Holdings Ltd.， dominate the mobile-payments market in China with a combined 90 percent share. They are estimated to have processed close to $3 trillion cumulatively in 2016， according to a report by the United Nations， which put Alipay slightly ahead of $1.7 trillion compared to $1.2 trillion for WeChat Pay. Alipay is used by about half a billion Chinese shoppers. Its mobile wallet is already accepted by more than 100，000 retailers in 70 international markets.