Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission issued Implementation Opinions on Supporting Private Enterprises to Participate in the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure [2020] No.1008 (hereinafter referred to as Opinions), putting forward to focus on key fields, optimize the market environment, strengthen support from economic factors, encourage reform and innovation, reduce the burden on enterprises, effectively solve the puzzles, obstacles and difficulties private enterprises have in participating in the construction and development of transportation infrastructure, build a participation mechanism with reasonable profit for private enterprises, give full play to private enterprises, improve the quality and efficiency in the development of transportation infrastructure, and provide strong support for high-quality economic and social development.

The original content of Opinions is as below.

To all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities with separate plans, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Development and Reform Commission, Finance Department (or Bureau), Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department (or Bureau, or Committee), Transportation Department (or Bureau, or Committee), Market Supervision Bureau, Banking Insurance Regulatory Bureau, Securities Regulatory Bureau, Shanghai Headquarters, Branches and Business Management Departments of the People’s Bank of China, central sub-branches of provincial capitals and sub-provincial central sub-branches of cities, energy regulatory agencies dispatched by the National Energy Administration, regional railway regulatory bureaus, regional civil aviation administrations, and railway bureau companies:

In order to implement Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Creating a Better Development Environment to Support the Reform and Development of Private Enterprises General Office of the CPC Central Committee [2019] No.49), to further stimulate the vitality and creativity of private enterprises, and to accelerate the high-quality development of transportation infrastructure, the following implementation opinions are put forward on supporting private enterprises to participate in the construction and development of transportation infrastructure.

I General Requirements

      Guided by Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we should thoroughly implement the spirit of the Party’s 19th Congress and the Second, Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 19th CPC Central Committee,  deeply study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the private enterprise symposium, and coordinate epidemic prevention & control and economic & social development. We should adhere to the general tone of striving for stability, the new development concept, the supply-side structural reform (as the central line), and the equal treatment of all kinds of investment entities. We should conform to the economic attribute and development law of transportation infrastructure, focus on key fields, optimize the market environment, strengthen support from economic factors, encourage reform and innovation, reduce the burden on enterprises, effectively solve the puzzles, obstacles and difficulties private enterprises have in participating in the construction and development of transportation infrastructure, build a participation mechanism with reasonable profit for private enterprises, give full play to private enterprises, improve the quality and efficiency in the development of transportation infrastructure, and provide strong support for high-quality economic and social development.

II Breaking down Barriers for Market Entry and Maintaining Fair Order for Competition

It is essential to set reasonable eligibility. No restrictive threshold shall be set for private enterprises to participate in the construction and operation of transportation infrastructure in any forms. Private enterprises shall not be restricted from participating in project bidding on the grounds that construction enterprises must set up subsidiaries in the construction sites, and requirements such as qualifications, achievements and awards that obviously exceed the characteristics and actual needs of the projects shall not be put forward in the bidding documents. Based on the principle of treating all kinds of market players equally, we will comprehensively clean up the existing qualification restrictions in the field of transportation infrastructure, and put forward treatment measures by classification. On the premise of not affecting the integrity and unity of the railway network, we will study to bid separately for some sections or some projects and set up a project company separately. (It shall be under the responsibility and division of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the State Administration of Market Regulation, the Civil Aviation Administration, the National Railway Administration, the National Railway Administration, and China State Railway Group, and be under the responsibility of relevant departments of local people’s governments at all levels, regional civil aviation bureaus and regional railway supervision bureaus.)

III Innovating and Improving Institutional Mechanisms and Creating a Good Policy Environment

It is significant to speed up the study, formulation and improvement of rules and systems for railway industry dispatching, charging & pricing, financial liquidation and other aspects in line with market principles. The negotiation and scheduling mechanism should be improved among transportation enterprises, and related affairs should be handled through equal consultation. We should improve the industrial liquidation platform, formulate open, transparent, fair and reasonable railway transportation income liquidation rules, improve the liquidation charging standard system, ensure the equal access and fair competition for all kinds of subjects, mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises to participate in construction & investment, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors. The technical standards and procedures for road network integration should be standardized. Allocation of resources such as air rights and moments, and differentiated supply of routes, moments, aviation fuel, aviation materials, pilots, airports and other elements shall not be implemented differently due to different nature of enterprises. We should promote the new model of integration and development of stations and cities, focusing on multi-level rail transit connecting hubs, and taking the development of the above-ground, underground and surrounding areas of the hub as a whole. We will build a new system for “one subject” construction and development, establish fair and reasonable benefit distribution mechanism, risk sharing mechanism and consultation mechanism for all kinds of development subjects, and encourage private enterprises to participate in urban renewal relying on the existing hubs and comprehensive development of new hub areas through sole proprietorship and equity cooperation. (It shall be under the responsibility and division of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Civil Aviation Administration, the National Railway Administration, and China State Railway Group, and be under the responsibility of relevant departments of the local people’s governments at all levels, regional civil aviation bureaus, and regional railway supervision bureaus.)

 IV Shaping New Business Models and Expanding Fields for Enterprises to Participate in

It is of great significance to support and encourage private enterprises to participate in the construction of major railway projects, as well as the operation and development of railway passenger and freight stations, mobile Internet services, express logistics and other business operations. We should promote the reform of investment and financing for the integration of railway stations and cities, plan and build urban commercial complexes with railway stations as carriers according to local conditions, and build public railway, railway and waterway multimodal transport centers. It is essential to support private enterprises to participate in the construction of airports, general airports and helicopter landing points with freight function as the main function, obtain domestic and international air rights for air cargo, deeply integrate with upstream and downstream industrial chains, and accelerate the construction of international logistics supply chain system. It is important for private enterprises to participate in the construction and operation of airport service facilities, and comprehensively develop the property, commerce, advertising and other resources around the airports. We should research and support private enterprises who engaged in air cargo to expand the scale of cargo aircraft import. We should encourage private enterprises with professional experience to participate in the business activities of expressway service areas, broaden the channels for social capital to participate in the construction and operation of urban parking facilities, accelerate the exploration of PPP model that the government invests in the joint development of public resources property rights and social capital, build a government-guided and market-led urban smart parking development model, and support and encourage private enterprises to promote the deep integration of intelligent technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things and Internet with the construction, management and operation of parking facilities. We should improve government procurement policies, and promote private enterprises to provide services such as congestion control and traffic big data platform construction. We should guide, encourage and support private enterprises to participate in the development of green transportation such as green maintenance, green driving training, green logistics, green roads and green shipping. (It shall be under the responsibility and division of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Civil Aviation Administration, the National Railway Administration, China State Railway Group,, and be under the responsibility of the relevant departments of the local people’s governments at all levels, the regional civil aviation bureaus, and the regional railway supervision bureaus.)

V Relieving the Actual Burden on Enterprises and Guaranteeing the Legitimate Income of Enterprises

It is essential to optimize the business environment, and treat all kinds of ownership entities equally with preferential tax and fee policies. We must not collect unreasonable transportation infrastructure construction loan commitment fees, fund management fees, etc. from private enterprises. We should manage the accounts owed by government departments and state-owned enterprises to private enterprises, clear them within a time limit, give priority to cash payment for accounts receivable, and take the initiative to use commercial bills to pay or confirm the rights of accounts for those who are temporarily unable to pay in cash, so as to facilitate the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises and effectively eliminate new arrears. For the transportation infrastructure that has been completed for acceptance and put into operation, the completion acceptance shall not be carried out later than one year in principle if it meets the acceptance conditions. Before the completion and acceptance, the final payment and deposit of the project can be paid to the contracting enterprise in advance by the third-party financial institution in accordance with the instructions of the owner under the premise of supervision by the third-party financial institution to ensure that the contracting enterprise has the bearing capacity. (It shall be under the responsibility and division of the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the People’s Bank of China, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Market Regulation, and be under the responsibility of the relevant departments of local people’s governments at all levels.)

VI Strengthening the Support from Resource Factors and Solving the Practical Difficulties of Enterprises

For public welfare transportation infrastructure projects invested and built by private enterprises, they enjoy the same investment support policies as other market entities. We should support private enterprises to participate in PPP projects of transportation infrastructure in a standardized way, and use China Public Private Partnerships Fund to provide financing support for eligible projects. For railways that private enterprises invest and construct, the railway supporting external electricity & power supply power projects invested and constructed by power grid enterprises shall be examined and approved according to the relevant prescribed procedures, and the relevant construction costs shall be included in the provincial power grid transmission and distribution costs, which shall be recovered through the provincial power grid transmission and distribution prices. We should attract more private enterprises to participate in the share reform and listing financing of transportation infrastructure projects. We should support qualified private enterprises in the transportation field to list in science and technology innovation board, and support qualified railway enterprises to implement debt-to-equity swap or asset share reform and listing financing. We need to guide financial institutions to provide credit support for private enterprises who participate in transportation infrastructure projects in accordance with the principle of marketization. (It shall be under the responsibility and division of the People’s Bank of China, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the National Energy Administration, and be under the responsibility of the relevant departments of the local people’s governments at all levels, and the energy regulatory agencies dispatched by the National Energy Administration.)

VII Providing Smooth Channels for Information and Strengthening Effective Communication

It is essential to establish a communication and consultation mechanism for private enterprises to participate in the construction and development of transportation infrastructure. We should strengthen the whole process tracking service for demonstration projects, organize regular coordination and promotion meetings, schedule progress, and coordinate and solve difficult problems. It is necessary to systematically sort out transportation infrastructure projects, form a project library to encourage private enterprises to invest in construction, and regularly promote it to the public. We should give full play to industrial associations in the field of transportation, guide private enterprises to participate in standard setting and technical research, encourage associations to flexibly take various forms to regularly listen to the opinions and suggestions of private enterprises in this field, and submit them to relevant departments for research and solution after summary. (It shall be under the responsibility and division of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Administration, the National Railway Administration, and China State Railway Group, and be under the responsibility of the relevant departments of the local people’s governments at all levels, the regional civil aviation bureaus, and the regional railway supervision bureaus.)

VIII Practically Changing Thoughts & Ideas and Enhancing Promotion & Evaluation

It is essential to further change ideas, improve ideological understanding, adhere to the “two unwavering”, and deeply understand the significance of developing private economy and the important role of private enterprises in innovating the system and mechanism of transportation infrastructure development and improving the efficiency of transportation infrastructure construction and operation. In the process of formulating and implementing major strategies, major plans and major policies, we should listen carefully to the opinions of private enterprises, and promote private enterprises to continuously improve the quality of enterprise development, operate in compliance with laws and regulations, and actively participate in the construction and development of transportation infrastructure. It is necessary to promote the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resumption of production of enterprises according to different levels and types in a coordinated way, so as to ensure the normal operation of projects under construction and the start of new projects on schedule. It is necessary to well organize and implement the existing policies and measures to support the development of private enterprises, summarize the good experiences and practices of supporting private enterprises to participate in the construction and development of transportation infrastructure in a timely manner, actively explore and summarize typical cases, and actively promote advanced experiences by holding on-site experience exchange meetings. (It shall be under the responsibility of all departments and localities.)

The National Development and Reform Commission

The Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People’s Republic of China (MOHURD)

The Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China

The People’s Bank of China

The State Administration of Market Regulation

China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission

China Securities Regulatory Commission

The National Energy Administration

The National Railway Administration of the People’s Republic of China

The Civil Aviation Administration of China

China State Railway Group

June 28, 2020

2020/07/08 Infrastructure Development Division

This article is reproduced from the official website of the National Development and Reform Commission