Govts will open further to business

Facing trade frictions, local governments will continue opening up to make the business environment fair and equal to all — lowering the market access threshold and costs for enterprises — senior officials said on Wednesday.

High-ranking officials from Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang province upheld the stance at a policy briefing hosted by the State Council Information Office in Beijing.

Trade frictions in the current global industrial chain have no winners and lead to some challenges for enterprises and the government, said Zhou Bo, executive vicemayor of Shanghai. Imports and exports are important to Shanghai, and the municipal government is committed to building a more efficient, inviting, fair and equal environment, he said.

Meanwhile, the government is providing better services and encourages enterprises to further invest to increase their competitiveness, Zhou said. Costs should be reduced for enterprises to alleviate their burdens, he added.

Zhejiang’s local economy is stable and in good condition, up by 7.6 percent in the first half of this year from the same period last year, said Feng Fei, executive vicegovernor of Zhejiang. “Our exports are also stable, but trade frictions have brought increasing uncertainties. We will further open up and promote the development of the pilot free trade zone to attract foreign investment,” he said.

Feng said the business environment will be improved to reduce costs for enterprises, while diversification is another way to attract foreign capital and boost exports.

The regions have introduced multiple measures to cut red tape in administrative approvals, making it easier for residents and enterprises to complete necessary procedures.

In Shanghai, 90 percent of enterprise-related approvals and services can be done in one trip to municipal and district departments this year, while 40 percent of approvals have been abolished.

Zhejiang is a pioneer in building an integrated website for government services since the end of 2013. Now, 16.7 million people and 1.88 million enterprises have registered at the site for diverse online services — one illustration of how the Internet Plus initiative has become vital in facilitating public services and improving the business environment, according to the provincial government.

About 80 percent of procedures can be done on the websites of the provincial and city governments, with corporate investment projects, property registration and business registrations to be done in a single window.

Those measures have brought real benefits. Over the past five years, 69 percent of administrative approvals were streamlined. In 2017, 40 billion yuan ($5.9 billion) was saved to make it easier to run businesses in the capital, said Wang Hong, vice-mayor of Beijing.