China has responded to Washington’s tax overhaul by offering foreign companies a break on Chinese taxes in a bid to retain investment. The measure announced late Thursday was Beijing’s first major reaction to the US decision to cut corporate tax rates. The country’s leadership has promised to spur growth in the slowing, state-dominated economy by opening more industries wider to foreign companies, AP said. Foreign companies will be exempt from withholding taxes on profits they re-invest in industries specified by Beijing, according to the Finance Ministry and tax agency. It is retroactive to January 1, 2017, meaning companies would receive a refund on taxes paid this year.