Briefly

Transport sector investment robust

Fixed-asset investment in the Chinese transport sector saw rapid growth in January on a yearly basis, an official said on Friday. In January, the sector's total fixed-asset investment soared by 42.1 percent on a yearly basis to 191.2 billion yuan ($29.5 billion), said Sun Wenjian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport. The figure climbed 13.8 percent from January 2019, Sun said. Most of the transport investment was for road and waterway construction, which surged 52.3 percent from a year ago to 143.4 billion yuan in January, he said.

Patent filings by domestic firms rise

The National Intellectual Property Administration said there has been a steady growth in the number of patent applications filed by domestic enterprises via the Patent Cooperation Treaty. In 2020, China saw a 17.9-percent year-on-year increase in patent applications from domestic applicants via the PCT, the sources said. Applications for trademark registration under the Madrid System from domestic applicants increased by 16.1 percent on a yearly basis a year ago. Intellectual property royalties reached $7.47 billion in the January-November period last year, up 24.2 percent on a yearly basis.

Tax on imported goods hits record low

The overall tax rate on imported goods in China was slashed by more than a quarter during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), hitting an all-time low, the General Administration of Customs said. The overall tax rate dropped from 21.8 percent to 15.8 percent during the period, a decline of 27.5 percent, said Jiang Feng, an official with the GAC, adding that the huge decline was due to China's significantly reducing its value-added tax and tariffs during the period. However, the total Customs duties and taxes levied, mainly the VAT and consumption tax, on imported goods, saw an 8.7-percent growth to 8.99 trillion yuan ($1.39 trillion) in the last five years, he said.

Vipshop reports $5.5b net revenue in Q4

China's major online discount retailer Vipshop Holdings Ltd generated total net revenues of 35.8 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2020, maintaining positive net earnings for 33 consecutive quarters, it said in a report. The NYSE-listed company raked in 2.4 billion yuan in terms of the net income attributable to its shareholders during the quarter.

Xinhua