Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2663 actions· ✨ 89 recent

On 6 February 2026 South African Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao signed the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Prosperity (CAEPA) in Pretoria. The framework — non-binding by design — covers four pillars: trade, investment, new-energy, and multilateral cooperation. China commits to provide duty-free access to South African exports under a follow-on Early Harvest Agreement (EHA) scheduled for conclusion by the end of March 2026; a progressive reduction of the 10% Chinese MFN tariff on South African fruit is already underway with full duty-free treatment for fruit scheduled for 1 May 2026. The signing took place against the backdrop of US "reciprocal" tariff pressure on South African exports (30% threatened, ~30,000 jobs at risk) and AGOA preference uncertainty, positioning China as a counterweight market. CAEPA is the first China-Africa bilateral framework structured as a quasi-FTA precursor rather than a FOCAC-style aid/concessional package.

China's Ministry of Finance, NDRC, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, People's Bank of China and National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly issued Cai Jin [2026] No. 4 on 2026-01-19, establishing a central-fiscal loan interest-subsidy scheme for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) operating in 14 designated industrial-chain and emerging-industry sectors. Eligible loans originated from 2026-01-01 receive a 1.5-percentage-point annual interest subsidy for up to two years, capped at RMB 50 million in principal per enterprise (maximum subsidy RMB 1.5 million per enterprise). The policy is tentatively set to run one year with a possible extension.

On 16 January 2026 the Yunnan Provincial People's Government issued Yunzhengfa [2026] No. 2, a package of 34 policy measures (effective through 2030) to support high-quality development of the Central Yunnan New Area (滇中新区), a national-level new area centred on Kunming. The measures span industrial upgrading, innovation, opening-up and fiscal/land support: transformation of traditional petrochemical and metallurgy industries into "hundred-billion-yuan" clusters, development of semiconductor materials/equipment, new-energy battery materials and non-ferrous/rare-precious-metals manufacturing using Yunnan's mineral and plateau-agriculture resources, and cultivation of low-altitude economy, biomanufacturing and new-materials industries. It also seeks to establish a South/Southeast Asia aircraft-delivery centre and one-stop aviation-maintenance base in the new area.

On 30 December 2025 the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued Hufubangui [2025] No. 20, a three-year action plan (1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028) to support the transformation and upgrading of advanced manufacturing. The plan sets quantitative targets — 100 new manufacturing enterprises with annual output above CNY 1 billion by 2028 (cumulative 600+), 500 new above-designated-size supply-chain enterprises, 100+ new national-level green factories, a robot density of 600 units per 10,000 workers, and 70%+ digital-equipment penetration — across next-generation electronics, intelligent connected new-energy vehicles, high-end equipment, advanced materials, green low-carbon and fashion consumer-goods industries, plus emerging bets on the low-altitude economy, commercial aerospace, embodied intelligence (robotics) and biomanufacturing. It is funded through tiered direct subsidies rather than tax relief: one-off R&D subsidies up to CNY 10 million, equipment/new-materials cost-share up to 30% of contract value (capped at CNY 20 million), technical- transformation loan/leasing interest support up to CNY 20 million cumulative, and 0.8-1.3% interest subsidies on component/material backup-inventory financing.

The Huadu District Government Office in Guangzhou (Guangdong Province) issued "Measures for Promoting High-Quality Development of New Energy and Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industries" (花府办规〔2025〕11号), effective upon issuance on 31 December 2025 for a two-year term. The package covers R&D-platform grants (up to RMB 100m per enterprise), model-promotion subsidies (up to RMB 50m per model), an L4+ autonomous-vehicle fleet-scale bonus (up to RMB 20m per enterprise), core-component investment rebates (1% of qualifying investment ≥RMB 50m, capped at RMB 300m), battery-production scale bonuses (up to RMB 60m for 5GWh+ output), at least RMB 200m for a "vehicle-road-cloud" integrated pilot zone (200+ autonomous vehicles, ~2,000 OBU retrofits), per-enterprise autonomous-fleet-operation subsidies (up to RMB 200m for qualifying passenger/cargo fleets), preferential industrial-land pricing (minimum 70% of benchmark rate), and facility-cost subsidies (up to RMB 150m/year for 3-5 years). It is a sub-provincial, district-level instrument implementing national NEV industrial-policy and the 2025-2026 Automobile Industry Stabilization and Growth Work Plan at the local level.

The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA, also known as Yizhuang) Management Committee issued Notice 京开管发〔2025〕32号 on 10 December 2025 ("Measures for Accelerating the Building of Beijing Yizhuang Automotive Smart Manufacturing Innovation City"), effective through 31 December 2028. The package sets out ten support measures spanning whole-vehicle/component-supplier cooperation, smart-manufacturing upgrades, core-technology R&D, innovation-incubation platforms, new application scenarios, financial support, industrial-ecosystem integration, and vehicle-city fusion development, aimed at building a Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei intelligent-connected new-energy-vehicle advanced manufacturing cluster anchored in Yizhuang. No aggregate budget or per-project subsidy caps are disclosed in the published measures or interpretation notice. Global Trade Alert logged the underlying state act (95714) as a single "state aid, unspecified" intervention (151434).

The Guangzhou Municipal Government Office issued document 穗府办规〔2025〕5号, the "Notice on Issuing the Guangzhou Three-Year Action Plan for Promoting Intelligent Connected New Energy Vehicle Industry Development," announced 14 June 2025 and effective 23 June 2025 for a three-year term through 22 June 2028. The plan targets NEV, autonomous-driving, and fuel-cell vehicles across passenger, commercial, and public-use segments, aiming for 2-3 Guangzhou-based NEV makers producing 500,000+ units annually by 2027 and L2+ smart-connected vehicles reaching over 90% of new vehicle sales.

On 7 May 2025 the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture People's Government (Hunan Province) approved the establishment of a CNY 1 billion ($~140 million) Xiangxi Industrial Development Guidance Fund, publicised the following day on the Hunan provincial government portal. The fund runs a "1+X+N" mother-fund structure — 30% of its scale for direct investment, 70% seeded into sub-funds with social capital — and is earmarked for 11 priority industry chains, including manganese-zinc and aluminium-based composite materials and vanadium-lithium battery new-energy and electronics, alongside ecological-culture tourism, liquor/tobacco, traditional Chinese medicine/biopharma, and specialty agriculture. It is managed by the prefecture finance bureau and capitalised by consolidating existing industrial-subsidy funds, rolling investment returns, and new budget allocations.

On 30 April 2025 the General Office of the Guangdong Provincial People's Government issued Yue Fu Ban [2025] No. 11, "Several Measures of Guangdong Province to Further Stimulate Market Entity Vitality and Accelerate the Construction of a Modern Industrial System," effective immediately through 31 December 2027. The package subsidizes bank-loan interest for manufacturing and high-tech enterprises at up to 35% of the loan rate, capped at RMB 2 billion in total annual subsidy volume and RMB 20 million per enterprise per year, alongside an expansion of government-backed financing-guarantee coverage to over RMB 10 billion annually. It also funds foreign-invested R&D centers (up to RMB 1 million, or RMB 5 million for multinational global R&D centers) and offers headquarters-relocation bonuses of up to RMB 8 million, with priority given to semiconductors, AI, robotics, biotechnology, quantum technology, commercial aerospace, and new-energy vehicles.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) removed four Chinese entities from the Unverified List (UVL) effective 15 December 2023, after successfully verifying their bona fides pursuant to § 744.15(c)(2) of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The four entities span oscillator electronics (Chengde), heavy industrial machinery (Erzhong), laser systems (Ningbo), and new-energy manufacturing (Xinjiang). Removal restores eligibility for EAR license exceptions and eliminates the requirement for a signed UVL Statement before US exporters ship EAR-subject items to these parties.