City's successful practices promoted as model among other regions

Foreigner learns about Beijing's immigration policies at a service center in the city.[Photo by Li Wen / Xinhua]

Beijing has once again provided innovative models in deepening reform and opening-up, which the Ministry of Commerce has called on other regions to follow.

The city government's full-range business administration model, green channel to attract professionals, departure tax rebate system and service platform have been endorsed by 16 ministries and central government agencies.

The Ministry of Commerce has issued a policy to promote Beijing's successful practices among other regions.

Wang Lu, who has worked for a Japanese software company for years, was sent to Beijing to found a research and development center in early 2018.

The new facility will focus on developing image recognition software used in a driver assistance system.

From the preparation stages to the official inauguration, it took her about one month to found the R&D center, Wang told Beijing Daily.

Benefiting from a "single window" approval model, which integrates the services offered by various local industrial and commercial administration departments, Wang said her application was registered the second day after her submission.

The local authorities - which involve commerce, market supervision, taxation, customs and banking departments - have set up a double-channel credit management system for foreign-funded companies, which earn or lose credit points depending on their performance.

The companies are rated as creditworthy, normal, abnormal and heavily supervised. The authorities employ different approaches to deal with businesses in each group.

Attracting high-level professionals has always been a priority on the city government's agenda, local officials said.

At Oasis International Hospital in Beijing's Chaoyang district, medical experts from China and abroad offer quality services. Of them, Chen Bin from the United States specializes in oral care.

He had to apply for a work visa every year until he was recently granted permanent residency.

As a high-level expert recognized by the district government, Chen filed an application for the permanent residence permit with a service center dedicated to foreign nationals last year. He was granted the permit 90 workdays after submitting his application.

"The service is easy to use and quick to respond," he said. "Now I have a greater sense of belonging."

Behind the acclaimed service is a green channel to attract international professionals.

The Ministry of Public Security issued an immigration policy in March 2016 to support Beijing's innovation, which was designed to attract technology researchers and specialists.

The policy contains 20 incentives, with 10 of them piloted in Beijing's high-tech business hub Zhongguancun and the rest implemented across the entire city.

In May 2017, the Ministry of Public Security approved new immigration policies designed for the city's Chaoyang and Shunyi districts, both designated as pilot areas for furthering opening-up in the local service industry.

The authorities established a permanent residence permit evaluation system for foreign management or technological experts in major companies in the districts, as well as foreign members in startup teams.

After the candidates' evaluation credit points reach a certain level, they can apply for a permanent residence permit in China, with a letter of recommendation issued by the Beijing Commission of Commerce, as well as other required materials.

Foreigners living in the two districts and Zhongguancun account for more than 80 percent of the total foreign nationals in Beijing.

In addition to permanent residence permits, they also benefit from relaxed requirements for entry and exit procedures, visa extension applications, port visas, and stay or residence in China.

In addition, Beijing began to use an online system for departure tax rebates in September 2017.

The unified system has been shared in many other regions, enabling data exchanges and tax rebates even when overseas tourists leave China from a city other than where they shop.

By the end of 2017, Beijing had processed more than 700 applications for departure tax rebates for shopping bills issued in other cities, including Shanghai, Tianjin and Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China, worth over 1.1 million yuan ($173,960) in total.

The city government also encourages service providers to share their resources.

Beijing customs has supported the establishment of an online platform designed to pool research and development equipment among research institutes. R&D facilities shared online will enjoy tariff reductions or exemptions.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences' 21 affiliated institutions, 11 universities and colleges in Beijing and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology have collectively shared nearly 690 pieces of equipment via the platform, helping participants to save 748 million yuan.