China's tax and fee cuts totaled over 1.5 trillion yuan (about 216 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year, completing more than half of the year's target to cut estimated 2.5 trillion yuan (360 billion U.S. dollars), an official from the country's top tax authority told CCTV.

Behind the steady economic recovery in the country is the orderly implementation of a series of tax and fee relief policies. China has successively introduced 28 preferential tax policies to support the resumption of business and production since the COVID-19 fallout.

"This has stimulated interest in entrepreneurship to a great extent," said Wang Jun, head of the State Taxation Administration, noting that the newly-added market entities which handled tax-related business went up 7.1 percent year on year in the second quarter.

Besides, the purchase of high-tech equipment and services by 330,000 enterprises which enjoy preferential tax policies on research and development rose 22.3 percent in the second quarter, Wang added.

About 92 percent of over 50 million small taxpayers in China have been exempted from value-added tax, while the value-added tax rate for the remaining eight percent has been lowered from three percent to one percent, according to Wang.

He added that the country's tax and fee cuts boost vitality of market entities, as a considerable part of the 11.5-percent year-on-year growth in profits of major industrial firms in June is due to direct or indirect effects of the tax and fee cuts.

To boost the development of foreign trade firms, authorities have also taken measures to facilitate export tax refunds, including promoting paperless tax rebate declarations, Wang said.

"The Yangtze River Delta region is an important source of tax revenue for our country. Its recovery is relatively fast. This proves that our economic situation throughout the year will get better and better. We have more confidence in development," Wang added.

China's economic growth in the second quarter was better than expected, but the current economic situation is still complex with great uncertainties. It is necessary to vigorously protect and stimulate the vitality of market players, and it is strictly forbidden to increase the unreasonable burden of market entities in any form, according to the official. 

(With input from Xinhua)