Policy digest

The central government has urged greater efforts to prevent delayed payments to private businesses, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting on Jan 30.

The meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also called for the establishment of a long-term mechanism to prevent delayed payments to private businesses from government departments and State-owned enterprises.

Greater strides will be made in the area so that the salary payments for migrant workers can be delivered in full before the Spring Festival holiday.

Bonds newly issued by local authorities should be primarily used to solve back pay problems. Funds withheld by government departments and large SOEs for several years must be paid at least by half before the end of this year, the statement said.

The meeting also urged central SOEs to pay debts owed to private businesses before the end of this year, with other SOEs also urged to expedite the process.

More work will be done to strengthen spot checks, oversight and special audits, and the identities of local authorities and departments performing unsatisfactorily will be publicized, along with cases with severe social impacts.

The meeting also urged the accelerated establishment of a long-term mechanism to prevent back pay to private businesses. The authorities will be strictly forbidden from requiring advance payments from businesses in exchange for government contract projects.

Revisions to laws and regulations will also be made to prevent new back payments, the statement said.

China will further cut the time required for immovable property registration to make it easier for the public to access government services, the State Council executive meeting on Jan 30 decided.

As part of efforts to improve the business environment, the reform of government functions must be deepened to address public complaints about the long time and tedious process required for real estate registration, a statement released after the meeting said.

An interagency information pooling and sharing mechanism will be established so that information related to immovable property registration, including household registration, business licenses, tax payments and transactions, can be shared by the end of this year, the statement said.

The meeting also called for efforts to streamline registration processes, with one-stop interagency services to be made available.

An Internet Plus immovable property registration model will be promoted so that applications, their review, and government feedback can all be made online. It will only take applicants a single trip to a single office to have application materials checked and see the registration completed, the statement said.

The time required for general registration will be cut to no more than 10 working days by the end of this year, and that for mortgage registration to no more than five working days. The time required for general registration will be reduced to no more than five working days before the end of next year, the statement said.

China will beef up performance assessment for its public hospitals to promote better efficiency and income distribution, according to a guideline published on Jan 30.

The guideline, issued by the General Office of the State Council, also aims to encourage public hospitals to emphasize quality and efficiency rather than expansion.

According to the guideline, the performance assessment of public hospitals will start this year, establishing an evaluation system. It will be further refined by 2020, so that the management of hospitals can be further standardized and the efficiency of medical services can be improved.

The performance assessment consists of 55 indicators, in categories including medical standards, operational efficiency, sustainable development, and customer satisfaction.

China has a three-tier system to grade its public hospitals, which offer the largest number of beds and provide comprehensive medical services.