The view from China

Subdued mood music for foreign businesses

The month began by marking the one hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party on 1 July. But the hoped-for clarity on border re-openings, dependants’ and business visa application procedures that we thought might emerge after the anniversary have yet to be seen.

Indeed, with a tightening of tax regulations due to come in next year for expatriates resident in China the general mood music for foreign businesses has been fairly subdued of late.

Emissions trading

In last month’s overview we mentioned that China would be opening its emissions trading market in late June, however this has been delayed by around a month. The delay has been in part due to the 1 July CCP anniversary celebrations and also due to the size and complexity of putting the emissions trading scheme in place.

The UK has been instrumental in sharing ETS best practice both with