Weekly policy snapshot of Chinese economy

China's policymakers have rolled out a raft of measures over the past week to shore up the economy and mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The following are the latest policies taken during the period:

-- China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Monday said it has allocated 45.66 billion yuan (about 6.53 billion U.S. dollars) to boost the capacity for the prevention, control and treatment of diseases.

The funds will focus on regions hit hard by the epidemic and fields in urgent need or facing shortage.

The move is meant to enhance counties' medical and health services capacity, promote the construction of regional medical centers, upgrade and transform treatment bases for major epidemics, improve the capability of treating critically ill patients, and reserve a certain number of facilities and equipment for emergency, the NDRC said.

-- The State Council, China's cabinet, has decided to implement more reform measures experimented with at the pilot free trade zones (FTZs) across the nation.

It is the sixth batch of measures tested by the pilot FTZs before being implemented in other areas, the State Council said in a new circular.

To be replicated nationwide are measures covering five areas: investment management, trade facilitation, financial openness and innovation, operational and post-operational oversight, and human resources, the circular said.

To reform investment management, green channels will be set up for approval procedures of electricity projects, registration of real estate will be made more convenient, and small-scale value-added tax declaration will be assisted by smart technologies.

-- China on Wednesday allocated a total of 615 million yuan for disaster relief in regions hit by floods, the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) said.

The funds, allocated by the Ministry of Finance and the MEM, were channeled to Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangxi, Chongqing and Guizhou, with 430 million yuan to be used for flood control.

The remaining 185 million yuan will be used to help people affected by the disasters.

-- China encourages the private sector to fund transportation infrastructure, and no restrictive threshold shall be set for private investment in this aspect, the authorities said in a circular on Wednesday.

Market access barriers should be leveled to maintain a fair competition order, said the circular jointly issued by 12 departments, including the NDRC.

-- China will allow foreign banks to gain access to fund custody business in its market, as part of efforts to further open up the financial sector, the country's securities and banking regulators said Friday.

Eligible Chinese branches of foreign banks will be able to apply for permits for fund custody business, according to the newly-revised fund custody rules jointly issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Applicants should have sound internal control mechanisms and good business performance, with major indicators including the scale of fund custody business, profits and market share ranking among the top in the world in the past three years, according to the rules.