IN BRIEF

Overseas visitors to get tax refund

A tax refund plan for overseas visitors has been expanded to the central China province of Henan to boost tourism and consumption, the Ministry of Finance said Thursday. Overseas visitors who have lived on the mainland for no more than 183 days are eligible for an 11 percent VAT rebate on consumer goods purchased at designated department stores.

Banks expand into rural areas

China witnessed robust growth of village and town banks in 2016, amid efforts to channel more financial resources to rural areas for development and to narrow the urban-rural income gap. China had 1,519 village and town banks at the end of 2016, up from 1,377 the year before, with combined assets topping 1.24 trillion yuan ($180 billion), Ma Xiaoguang, a senior official with the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said on Thursday.

Cargo train heads off to Europe

East China's coastal city of Xiamen launched the country's first rail route to Europe on a smart and secure trade lanes program. The cargo train, carrying 38 containers of liquid crystal displays worth 31 million yuan ($4.5 million), departed Xiamen on Thursday morning and is scheduled to arrive in Lodz, Poland, in 15 days.

Fishing bans hit Yangtze reserves

A permanent fishing ban in all 279 aquatic reserves along the Yangtze River has begun, as China races to revive the flagging ecosystem of its largest river. "Biodiversity in the Yangtze River has been shrinking. The Chinese paddlefish has not been seen in years and the Chinese sturgeon and finless porpoise are on the brink of extinction," said Yu Kangzhen, vice-minister of agriculture, at a meeting in Wuhan.

Xinhua