Beijing to improve business climate

Editor's Note: After 40 years of high-speed growth, China's economy has entered a high-quality development phase. China Daily is featuring a series of reports to show the new landscape across the country. This is the latest installment in the series.

Beijing's municipal government will continue providing a series of preferential policies to improve the capital's business climate, one that has been highly acknowledged by foreign entrepreneurs.

"Various levels of government in Beijing all have a strong service awareness," said Lars Eckerlein, senior vice-president of ABB (China) Ltd. ABB is a Switzerland-headquartered company focused on industrial technology.

Eckerlein made the comment on a media tour focused on Beijing's high-quality development on March 25.

"As a foreign company, we have enjoyed much convenience in the approval process including filing and tax registration," he said. "Our service unit has been developed rapidly in recent years thanks to the policies given by the capital."

ABB said it also received support from related governmental departments on quality certification and employee recruitment. The company currently owns five high-end manufacturing subsidiaries and a research and development center in the city.

"We will continue to invest in Beijing and I am very optimistic about our business development in the country," said Eckerlein.

ABB has participated in the infrastructure construction of many key projects in Beijing, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts, buildings in Tongzhou district－a new fast-developing administrative center－and Beijing Daxing International Airport.

Beijing not only welcomes large foreign companies, but also young entrepreneurs from home and abroad who want to chase their business dreams in the capital.

On April 2, Beijing's Haidian district, together with the Zhongguancun Administrative Committee, set up the Zhongguancun Global Youth Lab, which will serve as an international platform for young entrepreneurs.

The lab aims to attract young innovators and entrepreneurs from around the globe to start businesses and pursue their dreams in China. The local authority carried out policies such as express visas for qualified foreign talent.

These policies will help foreign talent in areas such as corporate registrations, intellectual property rights, legal services, investment and financing services.

There are more than 10,000 foreign workers and 40,000 overseas returnees in Zhongguancun－an area of the capital that has become a gathering place for outstanding talent from around the world.

Liu Meiying, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, said the capital has been working on improving the city's business climate in the past three years through measures and reforms.

For instance, more than 90 percent of the government-related paperwork in the service sector, especially approval processes, could be completed online as of the end of 2018, she said.

Lin Keqing, executive vice-mayor of the capital, said the government will introduce more supportive policies on cross-border trade, exit-entry affairs for talented individuals, and intellectual property protections this year, which will help the capital become more friendly to all businesspeople and investors from around the world.