Beijing streamlines services

Campaign to create business-friendly climate boosts administrative efficiency

The campaign was launched earlier this year, rolling out a massive package of favorable policies, officials from different departments said at a news conference held on Sunday. The policies relate to issues such as company registration, taxation, financial credit, infrastructure and cross-border trade.

Aiming to build a service-oriented government and improve the local business climate, the campaign focuses on streamlining procedures, cutting costs, and increasing efficiency and transparency, said Yang Xuhui, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

"We hope to build Beijing into a world-class metropolis with an ideal business climate and a pioneer in the country's new economic system characterized by the opening-up," Yang said.

From the end of March onwards, it will only take five workdays for a new company to register in Beijing, whether funded by Chinese or overseas investors. In 2017, it took an average of 22 workdays to complete the same process, said Kuang Xu, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce.

"It's a challenging task to slash the processing time by almost 80 percent," he said. "But we are confident."

To reach that goal, the government is adopting online systems for registration and data sharing, he said.

To set up a business, applicants used to have to visit different government departments and fill out multiple forms. However, the city is establishing a special service window in each of its 16 districts to deal with all the application materials for various registration processes, as all the information an applicant has uploaded onto the government's database can be shared among various departments.

Thanks to the greater use of internet technologies in government affairs, more than 10,000 companies have acquired business licenses via electronic means in Beijing, government data show.

Since the public can check corporate names online, companies can get a valid name registered online in just 20 minutes, according to the industrial and commercial administration.

Han Jie, deputy director of the Beijing Bureau of Finance, said the city is employing innovative methods to optimize taxation-related affairs.

Taxpayers can authorize a third-party payment platform to pay their tax automatically. They can make an online appointment before visiting the office so that they don't have to wait in a long line. They can also learn the latest information via the WeChat social media app, and the bureau's website, hotline and app.

"The move is expected to save their time and make the process more convenient," Han said.

As a national center for international exchanges, Beijing puts emphasis on improving the efficiency of cross-border trading, said Ke Yongguo, deputy director of the Beijing Commission of Commerce.

In cooperation with customs and inspection authorities, the commission has reduced the automatic import or export license application processing period to one workday, down from three to five workdays previously. It will also further promote the online approval of customs declarations, documentation, inspections, taxation and clearance.

All the fees involved have been made open to the public, to ensure the whole process is transparent and fair, Ke added.

The Beijing government has offered training to its on-the-ground staff across the city, helping them to understand the rules and improve service levels, Yang said.

Such services benefit all business participants, from companies to individuals, and from industrial giants to small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to Shen Hong, spokesman of the Beijing Bureau of Financial Work, the improved processes will help to reduce financing costs for SMEs in Beijing, with 14 new policies concerning credit, loans and guaranteed mortgages.

Bank of Beijing cancelled about 100 charges, including financial consultancy fees, from 2013 to 2017. The reform has cut operational costs for SMEs and rural companies by 2.47 billion yuan ($390 million), Shen said.

He added that further moves are on the way, such as reducing security deposits as well as account and cash management fees for some clients.

"We will continue to encourage banks to reduce costs for customers," he said.

There is also good news for SMEs in terms of infrastructure services. State Grid Beijing Electric Power Co has provided services designed for SMEs since early February, including installing power systems, offering fee exemptions and streamlining the approval process.