Customers shop at a shopping mall in North China's Tianjin, Dec 31, 2022, the first day of the New Year holiday. [Photo/Xinhua]China's recent moves to ease financial burdens faced by micro and small businesses and households are expected to further spur both economic rebound and consumption recovery this year, officials and experts said.In the past week, officials have reiterated various policy measures that were effected to help small businesses.On Monday, the Ministry of Finance announced on its website that China's small businesses with monthly sales of no more than 100,000 yuan (,764) each are exempted from value-added tax this year. This is expected to ease the burden on firms amid renewed efforts to bolster growth.For certain small businesses, two VAT rates, currently levied at 3 percent, will be lowered to 1 percent.Last year till Nov 10, China had cut or deferred taxes and administrative fees by more than 3.7 trillion yuan, according to data released by the State Taxation Administration.Facilitating the recovery of smaller businesses has been an integral part of China's policy mix to boost overall economic recovery this year. On Saturday, Guo Shuqing, Party secretary of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said in an interview with China Central Television that the country will widen financing channels for private firms, supporting their stock and bond issuances.Prudent monetary policy will be precise and forceful, with a focus on expanding effective demand and deepening the supply-side structural reforms, Guo said.Financial policies will work in sync with fiscal and social policies to increase incomes of low- and middle-income groups as well as those hit hard by COVID-19, said Guo, who is also the chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.Some experts said they believe these moves are crucial for this year's growth and will provide prompt support to businesses now staging a recovery, while also boosting household consumption.Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, said in a recent interview that this year, greater financial support shall be channeled to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that have been hit the hardest by the COVID-19 aftermath."With more and better targeted fiscal and financial support leaning specifically toward them, this is expected to facilitate a faster and stronger recovery of the Chinese economy," he said.He also said that most of the country's fiscal resources were channeled toward large-scale infrastructure projects in the past. Yet, relatively limited resources currently available shall be directed toward smaller businesses and low-income groups on a priority basis. Here is shan dong 編輯： 宋基金 閱讀量：175
A visitor (right) checks out Nreal products during an expo in Hefei, Anhui province, in November. [CHINA DAILY]China's market for augmented reality and virtual reality will expand quicker than any other major country over the next few years, on the back of mounting enthusiasm from both enterprises and consumers to embrace the applications, experts said.The Chinese AR and VR market's average annual compound growth rate should be 43.8 percent from 2022 to 2026, compared with a 38.5 percent clip globally, market research company International Data Corp forecasted in a report.Spending on AR and VR in China is predicted to hit .1 billion by 2026, making it the world's second-largest market, the report showed. Global spending may jump to .7 billion in 2026 over the same period.VR accounts for 70 percent of investment in the two technologies in China, according to IDC. Gaming is the leading user scenario for VR, accounting for almost a third of its use, followed by training and collaboration. These three subcategories should constitute more than half of China's VR market from 2022 to 2026.The reality-enriching sector is growing with an increasing number of consumer products available. Consumer-focused goods are predicted to make up nearly 40 percent of the entire AR and VR market by 2026. The education, healthcare and professional services sectors are expected to adopt immersive technologies, constituting more than 28 percent of their use, IDC added.Xu Chi, founder and CEO of Nreal, a Chinese AR glasses pioneer, expects that by 2030 there may be more than 1 billion AR or VR glasses offering various virtual and real interactive experiences."People today may think this figure is very high but sometimes we overestimate the technology iteration in two to three years and underestimate the changes brought by technology or products in more than 10 years," Xu said.Nreal said as of December 2022, the Beijing-based company has produced more than 100,000 AR glasses, making it the world's first consumer-oriented AR hardware company to cross the mark.With sales in China, Japan and the United States, the shipment of Nreal's AR glasses exceeded 70,000 units in the fourth quarter of 2022.According to Xu, the company's technological advantages lie in the fields of 3D perception algorithms and optical technology. It has set up an optical manufacturing base in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, to develop display modules. More than 60 percent of its staff members are involved in research and development, and nearly a quarter have overseas work experience.David MacQueen, executive director of Strategy Analytics, said Nreal is driving the consumer AR market and has found a sweet spot for both price — 9 — and functionality.Meanwhile, the company has been stepping up efforts to beef up AR content. It has partnered with video streaming platforms iQiyi, Migu — the digital content unit of China Mobile, electric carmaker Nio and short-video platform Kuaishou to develop customized AR content.Nio, for instance, has cooperated with Nreal to develop customized glasses that can project an effective 201-inch screen at six meters, as the carmaker aims to provide passengers with an immersive visual experience in its latest SUV models.AR technology imposes digital images over the real world, while VR is used to create a purely immersive digital experience.AR and VR form a key component of the metaverse — a trending concept that loosely refers to a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play, using such technologies as VR headsets and AR glasses.Other Chinese AR and VR companies such as Pico are also stepping up to expand their market presence. Pico, owned by tech company ByteDance, is working to popularize VR with its Pico 4 series. Here is shan dong 編輯： 宋基金 閱讀量：559
