Eighty-eight new laws and regulations take effect on the first day of the New Year that cover a wide range of areas including foreign trade, taxation, advertising standards and supervision of the military, Xinhua News Agency reports.

As part of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), seven laws and regulations took effect on January 1 that lift some restrictions on auto imports and foreign participation in gasoline sales, auctions and insurance, Xinhua said.

The new laws will formally cancel China's auto import quota and allow private and foreign companies to set up petrol stations in China in accordance with China's WTO accession commitments, it said.

A government decree on the import and export of goods also goes into effect Saturday that will bring China's definition of countries or regions of origin of goods in line with WTO standards.

The new regulation is aimed at curbing the counterfeiting of certificates of origin for export products that have been widely used to circumvent quota tariffs and taxes, especially in the processing and garment trades.

Starting from January 1, China will also audit military officers with the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher who are in charge of army finance work, according to a regulation issued by the military, Xinhua said.

Migrant construction workers also obtained the right to directly prosecute construction companies for back wages, according to another judicial interpretation which came into force.

A new regulation imposes stricter management on advertisers and advertising content in an effort to regulate a growing and often chaotic advertising market, it added.

From January 1, all crimes involving bank cards will be treated as "credit card" crimes in the criminal code, according to a draft judicial explanation passed on Wednesday by China's top legislature.

In another regulation, tax authorities will publicize a list of tax evaders via newspapers, TV and Internet from January 1.

Meanwhile, according to a new regulation issued by the central bank, the maximum currency which can be taken outside China per person will increase from 6,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan (723 to 2,409 US dollars) from January 1, it said.

Source: Xinhua