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Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 30 – On August 30, Premier **presided over an executive meeting of the State Council, listened to reports on the implementation of this year’s policies aimed at reducing taxes and fees, and decided to introduce further measures to support the development of the real economy； Improve the **essential medicines system** to meet the basic medication needs of the population and reduce the burden of medication costs. The meeting noted that reducing taxes and fees is an important measure for implementing proactive fiscal policies and maintaining stable and positive macroeconomic conditions. Since the beginning of this year, relevant departments have introduced a series of tax and fee reduction measures, and the positive effects such as supporting the development of small and micro enterprises and fostering entrepreneurship and innovation are becoming increasingly evident. The meeting decided that, while implementing the existing measures effectively, new initiatives to support the development of the real economy will be introduced. First, enterprises that have ceased operations due to policies such as capacity reduction and structural adjustment are granted exemptions from property tax and urban land use tax; tax exemptions are also provided for investment activities related to social security funds and basic pension insurance funds. For Postal Savings Bank, which provides a large volume of agricultural loans, its interest income from such loans allows it to use a simplified tax calculation method, with a VAT rate of 3%. Secondly, to encourage an increase in loans to small and micro enterprises, from September 1 this year until the end of 2020, the interest income from loans granted to eligible small and micro enterprises and individual business owners will be exempt from value-added tax, with the upper limit on the credit amount per entity being raised from the previously set 5 million yuan to 10 million yuan. Third, to promote a higher level of opening up and encourage and attract foreign capital to contribute to the domestic economic development, bond interest income earned by foreign institutions from investments in the domestic bond market is temporarily exempt from corporate income tax and value-added tax; the validity period of this policy is set at 3 years for now. Additionally, the export tax rebate rates for certain products are being improved. By taking the above measures, it is expected that the tax burden on enterprises will be reduced by over 45 billion yuan for the entire year. The meeting called for the swift implementation of all existing and newly introduced tax and fee reduction policies. The State Council’s inspection teams and the National Audit Office should step up their oversight to facilitate this process, and all departments must take proactive measures to reduce the burden on market entities, so that businesses and the public can truly see the benefits. The meeting noted that improving the **essential medicines system is an important measure for deepening healthcare reform and strengthening basic public healthcare services, and it helps to meet the basic medication needs of the population. The meeting decided that the list of essential drugs should be adjusted promptly. Building on coverage of the main clinical conditions, this adjustment focuses particularly on diseases such as cancer, pediatrics, and chronic illnesses. A total of 187 traditional Chinese and Western medicines with proven effectiveness and safety and a high cost-benefit ratio have been included, including 12 drugs for tumors and 22 drugs needed urgently for children; these numbers represent a significant increase compared to the previous list. After the adjustments, the total number of items in the essential medicines list increased to 685. In the future, new drugs that are approved for market use, offer significant improvements in efficacy, and have reasonable prices will be incorporated more rapidly. Second, it is necessary to reduce the medication costs for patients. Promote measures such as centralized bulk procurement in public medical institutions to drive down drug prices. Establish mechanisms to link essential medicines with basic health insurance and ensure the sustainability of health insurance; include, in accordance with established procedures, eligible therapeutic drugs from the list of essential medicines in the health insurance coverage list, so as to enable health insurance to benefit more insured individuals. Local authorities are encouraged to prioritize the use of essential medicines in the management of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and severe mental disorders, while ensuring their efficacy, in order to reduce patients’ medication costs. Third, it is necessary to ensure a continuous supply of essential medicines. For essential drugs that are prone to shortages due to low usage levels, measures such as designated production and inclusion in reserves can be taken to ensure supply. Public medical institutions should give priority to using essential drugs, with their usage linked to the allocation of relevant subsidy funds. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the supervision of drug quality and safety to ensure that the public can use drugs safely and with confidence. The meeting also discussed other matters.