BEIJING: China will extend some preferential tax policies and continue to implement zero tariffs on coal imports until the end of this year, state media CCTV reported on Friday, citing a cabinet meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on the same day, according to Reuters. China cut tariffs on coal to zero in April last year in the face of concerns over domestic energy security and supply disruptions. The country’s coal imports in the first two months of this year surged 71 percent from the same period last year, as utilities stepped up purchases of cheap thermal coal from Indonesia while arrivals from Mongolia also picked up after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. China will also cut some taxes for small companies and individual businesses and extend such favorable policy until the end of 2024, state media reported. Other preferential tax policies include a reduction in tax related to research and development and a halving of logistics companies’ tax on warehouse land for bulk commodity storage in urban areas. The cuts are expected to reduce the total burden by more than 480 billion yuan ($69.80 billion) a year, CCTV said. Last year, when private businesses were hit hard by stringent COVID-19 lockdowns and curbs, China’s tax and fee cuts, tax refunds and deferred payments totalled 4.2 trillion yuan, the finance ministry said. That included 2.4 trillion yuan in VAT tax rebates, the largest in recent years.