Govt policy moves on business environment, sports industry

Business environment to be enhanced

The State Council has called for efforts to promote Beijing and Shanghai's experience of optimizing the business environment across the country.

In a notice published on Sept 19, the Cabinet said good results have been achieved as the country continues to deepen reforms and optimize the business environment. And Beijing and Shanghai have gained some valuable experience and practices that have helped to address prominent problems facing market entities.

The experience covers starting a business, acquiring electricity, property registration, paying taxes and fees, cross-border trade as well as contract enforcement, according to the notice.

Among them, 13 items - including allowing enterprises to start businesses online, promoting electronic business licenses, handling the registration, trading and tax paying of property through one window, and promoting the single window for international trade - will be replicated nationwide, it said.

According to the notice, 23 measures will be shared across the country, including providing electronic files to enterprises, promoting electronic project bidding, promoting information sharing regarding real estate registration and cadastral (land boundaries) management, implementing online tax declaration and carrying out electronic customs clearance.

Governments and departments at all levels are required to simplify approvals to facilitate investment and business, conduct supervision to promote fair competition and deepen reforms to reduce the fees that enterprises pay.

Program to boost fitness to pay healthy dividends

China will take measures to promote nationwide fitness programs and stimulate sports consumption in order to push forward the high-quality development of the sports industry, according to a guideline published on Sept 17.

The guideline, issued by the General Office of the State Council, said the sports industry plays an irreplaceable role in meeting the people's growing needs for a better life.

The State Council required efforts to be made in several aspects including deepening reforms, improving industry policies, stimulating sports consumption, building more venues and facilities to make the sports sector a pillar of the national economy and boosting participation in physical exercise as a lifestyle of the public.

According to the guideline, national sports associations are encouraged to allow market entities to bid for the right to host sports events and operate venues through public property rights trading platforms.

To create a better environment for the development of the sports industry, measures will be taken to improve tax and fee policies, strengthen the intellectual property rights protection and step up financial support for sports enterprises, it said.

The State Council encourages local governments to adopt various flexible means to promote sports consumption, including extending the opening hours of public sports venues, developing fitness products and providing training services.

Various market entities are also encouraged to make use of the space in industrial, commercial and storage buildings and build sports facilities, the guideline said.

Efforts will be made to speed up the development of the icesnow industry and realize the goal of having 300 million Chinese involved in ice and snow exercise activities leading up to the 2022 Winter Olympics, it said.

In order to help the Belt and Road Initiative construction, according to the guideline, sports events including marathons, bicycle races, yachting competitions and car rallying are encouraged to be held along countries involved in the BRI.