B2 Wednesday August 7, 2019BIZUPDATE
Tax breaks planned to attract companies, experts
Lingang area to deepen opening-up
HK aviation sector risks
losing passengers if
it indulges protesters
By Wang Yi in Beijing and Fu Guohao
in Hong KongHong Kong’s aviation industry risks losing its
passengers to adjacent regions if they don’t quick-
ly make their stance clear and continue to indulge
protesters who wantonly obstruct their normal
operations, according to analysts.
If occasional short-term chaos and break-
downs caused by the unrest turn into an ongoing
problem, Asia’s busiest airport will be abandoned
by passengers and lose its status, an industry in-
sider said.
Amid a general strike in Hong Kong, about
250 passenger flights were cancelled by local air-
lines at the Hong Kong International Airport on
Monday after the transport hub became the latest
target of protestors, according to media reports.
Although the Airport Authority Hong Kong
(AA) posted a notice on Sunday, saying that any-
one should follow rules and not affect airport
operation and others who are using the airport,
the protest severely disrupted the airport’s nor-
mal operations and caused great inconvenience
to passengers.
As opposition forces occupied a passageway,
there was only a narrow path left for passengers,
a Global Times reporter at the scene found on
Monday.
Local airlines that permit staff to strike and
hold an ambiguous stance toward the civil unrest
that has caused social disorder and economic loss
have drawn public criticism.
A Cathay Pacific pilot who was arrested on July
28 during the unrest was still being allowed to
fly, which caused great security concerns among
the public.
Lam Chi-ting, general secretary of the Hong
Kong Tourism Industry Employees General
Union, told the Global Times that allowing a pi-
lot who has been accused of rioting to go back to
cockpit will cause “great unease and concerns.”
“The pilot participated in unrest without po-
lice permission, which shows he lacks a sense
of judgment, but a pilot needs good judgment,”
Lam said. Letting a pilot with extreme thoughts
fly a plane is like giving him a “big weapon,” Lam
said. “We all remember the 9/11 attacks, right?”
Its staff, contacted via telephone numbers and
email addresses shown on the company’s web-
site, repeatedly said that they are not in charge
of responding to media enquiries and suggested
that the Global Times ask the media or PR depart-
ment.
Qi Qi, an independent market watcher, said if
airports and airlines continue to indulge protes-
tors, the local aviation industry is at great risk.
“Once disorder becomes entrenched, consumers
will definitely choose alternative airports.”China Telecom says 5G standalone network realizes terminal commercialization
Domestic carrier China Tele-
com said on Tuesday that it has
accomplished the comprehen-
sive connection between the
5G standalone (SA) network
terminal chip and systems of
multiple companies, marking
the commercialization of the
5G SA network in terminals.
Using Huawei’s Balong
5000 chipset, the carrier has re-
alized the milestone at the endof July, according to a report
from domestic media site stcn.
com on Tuesday.
Huawei launched its first 5G
chipset named Balong 5000
in January, which it claimed is
the most powerful single chip
that supports different architec-
tures.
After tackling 15 important
issues, the July test realized full
chipset-system connection.
All three major carriers inChina – China Mobile, China
Unicom and China Telecom –
have been firm supporters of
the country’s 5G deployment
for the SA network, which is
different from another 5G net-
work architecture – non-stand-
alone (NSA).
The three major carriers
have announced plans to de-
ploy the pre-commercial ap-
plication of 5G this year and
achieve formal commercial ap-plication in 2020.
“Compared with NSA,
which has already realized
commercialization, the SA net-
work is still at the research and
development phase,” according
to Fu Liang, a veteran industry
analyst.
It is expected that more 5G
SA chipsets will be rolled out
in the second half of this year
or early next year, Fu told the
Global Times on Tuesday.In June, China’s Ministry
of Industry and Information
Technology granted 5G licenses
to the three major telecom op-
erators and China Broadcasting
Network Corp amid the global
race for 5G rollout.Global TimesBy Yang Kunyi and
Zhang HongpeiThe Lingang New Area of the China
(Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone
(FTZ) will be benchmarked against
high international standards to com-
pete with the top FTZs worldwide
with some of the most preferential
policies to ensure the opening up of
the Chinese economy, according to a
press conference held by the Ministry
of Commerce on Tuesday.
The addition of the Lingang New
Area to the Shanghai FTZ shows
China’s determination to open up
its economy and facilitate freer activ-
ity in trade, investment and finance,
and it will encourage a new round of
opening up in the rest of China, ac-
cording to experts.
According to the conference, the
start-up area of the Lingang New
Area will cover 119.5 square kilome-
ters, and it will have policies to facili-
tate investment and operation, trade
and the flow of funds.
Over the next five years, 100 bil-
lion yuan ($14.2 billion) will be allo-cated for investment in the Lingang
New Area, Shanghai Vice Mayor
Chen Yin said during the conference.
“The New Area is not just simply
an expansion of the Shanghai FTZ,
it is a brand new investment with a
higher standard and position,” Chen
said.
Apart from a large investment,
policies will also be announced to at-
tract more talent and international in-
vestment and companies to the new
area. Tax breaks, including a 15 per-
cent preferential tax for companies in
the integrated circuit, artificial intel-
ligence and other leading industries
in the first five years of operation, will
be introduced to the new area.
Lower tax rates will also be offered
to experts and highly skilled Chinese
citizens.
“Shanghai has always been the
front runner in China’s establish-
ment of FTZs,” Cong Yi, a professor
at the Tianjin University of Finance
and Economics, told the Global
Times on Tuesday. “The addition of
the Lingang New Area shows China’s
determination to deepen the opening
of its economy. Some of its useful ex-perience will be gradually introduced
and copied across the country.”
The Lingang New Area is a way
for the whole country to prepare for
a higher level and higher standard of
opening-up, Cong said.
Wang Xin, a director of the Peo-
ple’s Bank of China, also said dur-
ing the conference that the new area
will be developed within the broader
picture of building up Shanghai as a
financial center, facilitating the inter-
nationalization of yuan-denominated
products and freer flows of capital.
After nearly a decade of data col-
lection, the financial information
support center in Shanghai has ac-
cumulated practical experience and
advanced technology that bolster the
financial hub’s confidence in further
opening-up, Ding Jianping, a profes-
sor at the Shanghai University of Fi-
nance and Economics, said.
In Shanghai, reform and opening-
up in the financial sector are more
closely related to “targeted regulation
based on big data,” meaning a reduc-
tion in regulatory burdens for enter-
prises via big data analysis, according
to Ding.POLICY
TELECOMS
TOURISM
Page Editor:
shenweiduo
@globaltimes.com.cnBig span, big plan
The Shanghai-
Nantong
Yangtze River
Bridge is under
construction in
Nantong, East
China’s Jiangsu
Province on
Monday. The
11.07-kilometer-
long bridge, now
known as the
Hutong bridge,
will function
as a major link
to integrate
big cities in
the Yangtze
River Delta. It
is expected to
open to traffic in- Photo: VCG