Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Data "roaming" fees will be cancelled as scheduled on July 1

The State Council Information Office held a press conference yesterday to introduce the development of the industrial communications industry in the first quarter of this year. In response to questions from the media about speed increase and fee reduction, Wen Ku, Director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and spokesperson, said that basic telecommunications companies are actively making arrangements and the cancellation of traffic "roaming" fees will be implemented as scheduled on July 1. Wen Ku also said that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will further promote the increase in user broadband speeds, and this year's guiding goal is to hope that more than half of household broadband users can use broadband speeds of more than 100 megabits.

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The launch of unlimited packages will be intensified

Wen Ku pointed out that in terms of reducing traffic fees, in order to implement the goal of reducing fees by 30% proposed in the Government Work Report, basic telecommunications companies have sorted out five measures:

• First, the difference in rates between national and local data traffic, also known as data "roaming" fees, will be officially eliminated on July 1. "According to our current understanding, companies are working overtime, and I can tell you that this is achievable," Wen Ku said.
• Second, we will increase the launch of unlimited or high-volume data plans. Some companies have upgraded local data to national data in their newly launched packages.
• The third is to expand the capacity and reduce the fees of traffic packages, launch preferential sales for mainstream packages, give users a certain amount of communication fees, and further expand the capacity of some of the traffic included in the packages.
• Fourth, based on some characteristics of user usage, we will launch some traffic products, continuously enrich the existing Internet traffic products, and continue to launch monthly traffic packages, holiday traffic packages, and daily traffic packages to lower the threshold for traffic consumption.
• The fifth is to promote people-friendly services that allow worry-free use of traffic. After the traffic volume is exceeded, some preferential traffic peace of mind packages will be automatically added, and users will be reminded of their traffic usage in time when the limit is approaching, etc.

Wen Ku also pointed out that in terms of home broadband, the company will continue to implement preferential home broadband and launch preferential broadband tariff plans. In particular, some speed increases without price increases will be carried out, and the promotion of fixed convergence packages will be intensified. In terms of broadband dedicated lines for small and medium-sized enterprises, the company will further reduce the price of dedicated lines, which is expected to drop by 10% to 15% this year. Some special products have also been launched for some small and medium-sized enterprises to support the "double innovation" of small and medium-sized enterprises. In terms of network speed increase, this year we will further promote the increase in user broadband speed. This year's guiding goal is to hope that more than half of home broadband users can use broadband speeds of more than 100 megabits. At the same time, regarding the issue of uplink speed that some users are concerned about, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will issue relevant uplink speed standards in the first half of the year.

Foreign equity restrictions on new energy vehicles will be lifted this year

A media outlet asked at the press conference that China will relax restrictions on foreign investment in the automobile industry and reduce automobile import tariffs as soon as possible. What impact will this have on related industries in China? How will the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology implement it?

Chen Yin, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, China announced major landmark opening-up measures, including significantly relaxing market access, creating a more favorable investment environment, strengthening intellectual property protection, and actively expanding imports, which further demonstrated China's determination and will to firmly promote a new round of reform and opening up with greater force.

Chen Yin said that significantly relaxing market access is a win-win move. According to the deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, on the basis of the basic opening of the manufacturing industry, the opening requirements of the automobile, shipbuilding, aircraft and other industries will be further implemented, and the restrictions on foreign equity ratios will be relaxed, especially in the automobile industry. In 2018, the restrictions on foreign equity ratios of special-purpose vehicles and new energy vehicles will be lifted, in 2020, the restrictions on foreign equity ratios of commercial vehicles will be lifted, and in 2022, the restrictions on foreign equity ratios of passenger vehicles will be lifted, and the restriction on the establishment of no more than two joint ventures in China will be lifted.

Chen Yin said that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has actively cooperated with the national tariff authorities to study and formulate a considerable reduction in automobile import tariffs. Once confirmed, it will be released as soon as possible. China's door to opening up will not close, but will only open wider and wider. In the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will uphold the concept of openness and cooperation, adhere to the market-oriented orientation, integrate more deeply and widely into the global supply system, and promote economic globalization in a more open, inclusive, equitable, balanced and win-win direction.

The second round of fundraising for the Integrated Circuit Development Fund is underway

In response to questions from the media about whether China will increase its investment in integrated circuits, Chen Yin said that the integrated circuit industry is a technology-intensive, talent-intensive and capital-intensive industry. "In recent years, driven by market demand, my country's integrated circuit industry has developed rapidly, its overall strength has been significantly enhanced, and its industry scale has grown rapidly. However, we also know that there is still a gap in chip design, manufacturing capabilities and talent teams, and we need to further accelerate development."

Chen Yin pointed out, "China's electronic industry information market is vast. We will adhere to the path of innovative development and open cooperation, accelerate the breakthrough of core technologies, and strengthen international industrial cooperation. We are confident that we can work with countries around the world to seek welfare and common progress for human development." Chen Yin also revealed that the Integrated Circuit Development Fund is now in the second phase of fundraising and welcomes companies from all parties to participate in the fund raising.