China announced a preferential tax plan for imports at the second China International Import Expo (CIIE), bringing more incentives to global sellers. It is a win-win move that both benefits overseas companies and promotes the domestic economy's transformation, business representatives and experts told the Global Times.

For a specified quantity of goods, import tariffs will be exempted, and value-added import tax and consumption tax will be levied at 70 percent during the expo, which runs from Tuesday to Sunday in Shanghai, read a notice on the website of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Monday.

The tax exemption doesn't apply to goods that fall under banned imports, endangered animals and plants, automobiles and the 20 categories of goods that are not permitted preferential tax treatments, according to a notice jointly issued by the MOF, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration.

There's a sales quota for the imported goods that enjoy the preferential tax policy. 

A list of companies attached alongside the notice shows that the highest quota can reach $11.2 million. Companies not included on the list will have a maximum quota of $20,000.

Sales exceeding the limit will be taxed at the regular levels, the notice read.

The preferential tax plan will boost overseas companies' sales at the expo, a representative from a US special glass and ceramic materials manufacturer, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The CIIE provides such a great international platform where global companies can share the future," the representative said. 

The tax-cut plan helps our products reach Chinese consumers at a preferential price, Wang Shi, the market manager for the Asia-Pacific region at Swiss cosmetic company Hemyval Sàrl, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"As a foreign company, we appreciate the policy support from the Chinese government," Wang said. "We want to participate in the CIIE more deeply. We highly value this platform and opportunity. We'd like to come here every year," Wang added.

The CIIE and its supplementary measures like tax exemptions are major win-win moves through which global sellers can enjoy the achievements of the Chinese economy's development and China can better promote its economic transformation and upgrading, experts said.

The preferential tax plan is a complementary measure for the CIIE that shows China's resolve to keep promoting opening-up, said Liu Jianying, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce.

Yuan Fuhua, an economics professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times on Tuesday that a tax-cut plan that covers all categories of goods at the expo will promote consumption and benefit global sellers.

The move is also in line with China's internal needs to promote quality development and manufacturing upgrading, Yuan said.

The list of overseas companies published alongside the note showed that they are all high-technology equipment and products makers, which can assist China to offset its relatively weak links in its manufacturing industry, Yuan noted.