China to slash import-export fees amid slowdown

BEIJING -- China is planning to cut more import-export fees in a bid to buoy its sinking foreign trade.

The government will lower costs for enterprises by cutting fees at ports, customhouses and quarantine agencies, and canceling those with no legal basis before the end of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said Wednesday.

The country began to trim foreign trade fees last year, helping firms save more than 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) so far.

However, a notice jointly issued by seven government departments warned that trade authorities have been lax in implementing some of the measures. "Many trade-oriented companies are still afflicted by arbitrary fee hikes," it said.

Dragged down by anemic external and internal demands, China's foreign trade dropped 7.3 percent in the first seven months of 2015, while its annual growth target for 2015 is around 6 percent.

"To accomplish the target, we will face even greater pressure in the second half of the year," said Shen Danyang, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce.