Easier administrative approval benefits firms

SHIJIAZHUANG－Li Cuimin, an employee of an automobile sales service shop in Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei province, still remembers the difficulty she had when trying to apply for a business certificate.

"Last year, I went to the local office more than 20 times, but was finally told that I did not need to apply for the certificate because our shop had already been qualified based on another certificate," Li said.

"This year when I went to the new center for a permit of business change, it only took me two visits to finish all the procedures."

The new service center was established in February by the local government in a move to improve the administrative approval system. So far, the city has streamlined 150 items of approval in 25 sectors.

Liu Zhanzhong, deputy head of the center, said more efforts are being undertaken to make it even easier for the public, such as issuing e-business permit certificates.

According to the report approved by the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the government will strive to "transform its functions, further streamline administration and delegate powers, develop new ways of regulation and supervision, and strengthen its credibility and administrative capacity, building itself into a service-oriented government able to satisfy the needs of the people."

Liu Chunzhe, head of the Haidian district division of the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce, said Beijing launched a project to enable enterprises to register online in November.

In April this year, an education innovation company with both Chinese and Australian investment became the first joint venture to register online in Beijing, which was also a start for the city to enable foreign-invested enterprises to fulfill registration and business changes by submitting information online.

"The reform simplified administrative procedures for enterprises, and reduced nearly 50 percent of the data needed before," Liu said, adding that enterprises now spend much less times visiting the office on site.

Jawad, a Pakistani civil servant and a postgraduate in Renmin University of China, visited the administrative service center of Haidian district in Beijing on an open day.

He told Xinhua that he would like to learn about the experiences of China and bring them back to his country.

"I want to know more about the policies, and maybe start a business of my own in the future in food trade between China and Pakistan," he said.

Since 2012, China has canceled or delegated the power of more than 600 administrative approvals to lower-level offices.

The corporate burden was slashed by 2 trillion yuan ($303 billion) through cuts in taxes and fees from 2013 to 2016.

In September, the State Council decided to expand a reform to cut business red tape. Being tested in Shanghai Pudong New Area, the reform separate business operation permits from business licenses, and streamlines approval for new businesses.

The reform and a total of 10 free trade zones across the country will emphasize eliminating administrative permits, while increasing supervision and information sharing. Also in November, China's top legislature approved 11 draft amendments to clear or simplify approval items to streamline administration.