19 reporters from 8 foreign media outlets including AFP, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal as well as domestic journalists go to Tanhualin community in Wuhan to learn about the COVID-19 epidemic prevention story. Photos: Cui Meng/GT

 A source from the Chinese authorities has refuted allegations by foreign media, including The Wall Street Journal, that value-added tax rebates released by China in March encourage exports of wild animals, saying the incentive targets all 1,500 items included, and has nothing to do with wild animal exports.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance said on March 17 it would raise value-added tax rebates on nearly 1,500 Chinese products, offering them a 9 percent rebate.

A source close to the ministry told the Global Times that the rebate was raised from the previous 6 percent, and targets nearly all 1,500 items on the list, not just its animal products.  

A total of 180 animal products, including edible snakes, poultry and rabbits were included on the list. 

Some Western media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News, jumped on the news after discovering the document, and recklessly labeled it as China's intention of selling "wild animals" abroad while banning wildlife trade  domestically.

An employee from the State Forestry and Grassland Administration said that the products from the lists are artificially bred and edible, thus they can be exported legally and cannot be categorized as "wild animals."

"There is no possibility of the virus being transmitted to other countries by exporting edible agricultural products, and the export of edible agricultural products complies with international trade requirements and other countries' inspection standards," Sun Wenhua, director of the China Agriculture Chamber of Commerce (CACC), told the Global Times on Monday.

Chen Shaohua, a tax lawyer at the Beijing Yingke Law Firm, reiterated that value-added tax rebates are necessary to reduce companies' burdens, against the backdrop of China's economy being battered by the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Compared with companies in countries like the US that impose no value-added tax, China's exporters still bear more tax burdens than their US counterparts even if the tax rebate rate is raised to 9 percent," Chen said, and added that it is ridiculous to say the move "could spread the risk to global markets."