Fresh business system reform to further invigorate China market: officials

BEIJING - China's latest efforts to deepen reform on its business system will contribute to the building of a high-standard market system and further stimulate entrepreneurship, the country's top market watchdog said.

The State Council, China's cabinet, has released a circular which listed business system reforms in four areas, introducing multiple measures to improve business environment and invigorate the market.

Tang Jun, deputy chief of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), said the new business system reform is a major policy move and is expected to herald breakthroughs in broader reforms that streamline administrative approvals, delegate power to lower levels and improve regulations and services.

Previous reform efforts have yielded tangible results, contributing to the rise in market players and ease of doing business. The country now has 132 million registered market entities, and it takes no more than five working days to open a business.

The ease of starting a business is an important gauge of business environment and plays an important role in spurring entrepreneurship and market vitality, Tang said.

According to the circular, China will push for adopting fully online procedures for starting a business in order to further reduce the time required for setting up an enterprise to no more than four working days.

Another highlight of the business system reform will be about the production license system. Efforts will focus on delegating power in a bid to boost efficiency, enhancing supervision, and improving government services in this area, said Sun Huichuan, an official with the SMAR in charge of quality oversight.