By Te Kan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-06 06:26

Dalian is one of the first Chinese coastal cities to open up to the world. In view of new challenges in the new century, the city emphasizes the need for a global vision. The municipal government has given prime importance to the administrative reform.

Over the past few years, in order to streamline government functions and build a service-oriented leadership, Dalian has deepened reform of the administrative approval system by reducing the items of administrative approval, building a service platform, optimizing the approval procedures and improving transparency.

Dalian is one of the first cities in China to reform the administrative approval system and is among those that have the fewest items and take the shortest time for approval. City authorities' efforts have won widespread praise, and the practice has been nationally acclaimed as the "Dalian Model".

In order to tackle the problems in the old approval system, the municipal government has carried out four large-scale reforms since March 2001, reducing the items requiring administrative approval by 90 percent, from 1,309 to 127.

Human-oriented service platform

Besides reducing the number of items that need administrative approval, the municipal government of Dalian has established an administrative service center, a one-stop service that has greatly improved administrative efficiency.

In a State Council-organized comprehensive evaluation of the country's some 2,000 administrative service centers, Dalian's service center was graded as being among the Top Ten Most Competitive Administrative Service Centers in China.

The service center was set up in 2002. In 2004, it was extended to create a new center offering more efficient service. The new center has a floor area of 15,000 sq m with 80 service windows, and is equipped with rolling displays, touch screens, multi-function rechargers, water dispensers and other facilities to provide more human-oriented services.

In 2004, the municipal government issued a circular requiring all administrative approval-related departments to provide their services at the center.

Today, all the 127 items for administrative approval and 71 items of administrative fees by 39 departments are handled in the center.

Four measures have been taken to improve the efficiency of the one-stop services. First, green channels are provided for large projects, including key State or provincial government projects, as well as those involving foreign investments of over 1 billion yuan.

Second, a chain reaction mechanism has been set up between municipal and district administrative service centers. Meetings are held regularly to discuss work-related problems. District level service centers receive convenient assistance in the municipal service center to complete the double-approval work within the shortest time.

Third, the center has an agent window to handle applications for approval from a few departments that have not joined the center.

Fourth, in case of tacitly permitting overtime administrative approval concerning real estate development or the construction of investment projects in the municipal or district-level service centers, concerned officials will be held responsible. For cases requiring denial of approval, the verdict should be rectified and the persons liable punished.

Procedures for higher efficiency

The municipal government has conducted comprehensive studies on the names, targets, legal grounds, application conditions and requirements, as well as procedures and time commitments of the remaining items for administrative approval, with the result that procedures have got simplified and links have been reduced.

In 2004, the year for service and other software construction, the municipal government organized 28 departments to study the 203 operation flow sheets and finally decided on 37 categories of one-way flow, winning the praise of enterprises and citizens.

From 2002 to 2007, the government departments have optimized 39 items and reduced the working time for administrative approval by 53 percent.

A total of 73 items can be handled immediately upon application. The remolding of the flow has regulated procedures and shortened their duration, cut costs, improved efficiency and enhanced transparency.

Increased transparency

In order to reform the administrative approval system, the municipal government has also integrated information resources and edited the Catalogue of Government Information and Guide on Open Government Information.

Nearly 30,000 pieces of government and public information in five categories, including institutional functions, laws and regulations, urban planning, office business and others, are included. Such information is provided to the public on the government's websites or through other means free of cost.

The scope and contents of information available to the public has been extended to the maximum possible level. With important public issues being the key points, all links of decision-making, enforcement and supervision, as well as public administration and service are thoroughly made public.

In the field of administrative approval, all items, procedures, responsible departments and charging standards are made public in a timely, accurate and complete manner. The public's right to know, participate, express opinions and supervise are guaranteed.

(China Daily 09/06/2007 page61)