MNI China Press Digest April 24:SOE Transfer, Electricity, U.S

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Friday:

• China is boosting fiscal income by requiring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to remit a larger share of profits to support public welfare, as pressure mounts from widening gaps between government revenue and expenditure, Yicai reported. Data from China’s Ministry of Finance show that national state capital operation budget revenue climbed 25% year-on-year to a record CNY854.7 billion in 2025. Over the same period, general public budget revenue fell 1.7% and government fund budget revenue dropped 7%. Tobacco companies and resource-based industries—including petroleum and petrochemicals, power, telecommunications, and coal—now remit 35% of profits, up 10 percentage points for tobacco firms and 15 percentage points for resource sectors compared with 2014 levels. Zhao Wei, chief economist at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, said local governments may further raise profit remittance of local SOE ratios to align with central standards. If local SOEs adjust to those levels, profit remittances could rise about 80% year-on-year from a 2024 base, adding roughly CNY180 billion in fiscal revenue, he said.
• Several provinces, in line with national reforms, have introduced a flexible electricity pricing mechanism that allows prices to fluctuate between minus CNY0.1 and CNY1.1 per kilowatt-hour, Yicai reports. The system enables power generators to charge higher prices during supply shortages while requiring them to effectively pay to feed into the grid at surplus periods. Wang Yang, head of the Electricity Pricing Division at State Grid Liaoning, said the change strengthens the role of price signals in facilitating renewable energy consumption. He noted that photovoltaic generation peaks at midday when demand remains relatively stable, while it drops to zero during the evening demand peak. The head of a high-energy-consuming enterprise said the company now schedules production around electricity prices to save millions in electricity costs each year.
• The U.S. decision to begin processing refunds worth billions of dollars in tariffs ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court marks a constructive step toward correcting past mistakes, said He Yongqian, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce. He added that unilateral U.S. measures, including reciprocal tariffs and fentanyl-related tariffs, violate both international trade rules and U.S. domestic law. “We advise Chinese export enterprises to assess their own circumstances, actively engage with relevant stakeholders, and safeguard their lawful rights and interests,” He said.