Nation to bolster business environment and deepen reforms

China's top economic regulator urged more efforts to further optimize the business environment nationwide as part of the country's larger drive to deepen reforms and open up the economy.

Lin Nianxiu, vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the country is dedicated to creating a world-class, market-oriented business environment governed by the rule of law.

"It is a key measure that will stimulate market vitality and the creativity of the whole society, improve the government management system, promote the state's governance capability, further deepen the reform and opening-up," Lin said on Monday at a national meeting on exchanging notes over such experiences.

He noted all regions and departments need to push forward with reforms that delegate power, improve regulation, upgrade services and promote a continuous improvement in China's business environment.

More work should be done to build a coordinated, efficient and co-governance mechanism, establish and improve fair, open and transparent market rules, promote effective supervision, better serve the public, deepen reforms and strengthen the rule of law, Lin added.

The official gave the remarks after the country last week unveiled its first regulation to improve the business environment.

The new regulation, which will take effect on Jan 1, 2020, offers market guarantees for companies looking to invest or develop a business in China. Equal treatment will be given to all market entities whether foreign or domestic, according to the new regulation.

A new World Bank report showed China has moved up 15 places to rank 31st of 190 economies in the ease of doing business, becoming one of the top countries in posting an improvement for the second consecutive year.

China has been ramping up efforts to optimize the business environment, such as implementing taxes and reducing fees to ensure entrepreneurs and innovators can compete in a fair environment based on market rules.

Ren Zhiwu, deputy secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission, noted more effort would be needed to boost mass entrepreneurship and innovation to cultivate new growth drivers and foster high-quality economic development.

At this time, the Chinese economy is facing mounting downward pressure amid a rise in economic uncertainties given the complex and fast-changing environment at home and abroad. The country's GDP slowed to 6 percent in the third quarter this year, the weakest pace in almost three decades, official data showed.

"We need to continue to strengthen the innovation ecosystem and build a bigger platform to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation," Ren said at a recent mass entrepreneurship and innovation day held by the State Grid Corp of China in Beijing.

Ren proposed making a big push to stimulate creativity and innovation in three aspects, providing new impetus to the slowing economy.

The first is to continue developing policies and measures to support innovation and business startups, promote practical cooperation through demonstration bases and establish more mass entrepreneurship and innovation alliances.

The second is to facilitate integrated innovation and development of companies of different sizes. The third is to fully leverage the active demonstration bases for entrepreneurship and innovation and plan a variety of activities to increase exchanges and deepen cooperation.

Initiated by Premier Li Keqiang at the 2014 Summer Davos in Tianjin, the mass entrepreneurship and innovation program has become a craze sweeping the nation.

State Grid Corp of China, among the country's first batch of innovative enterprises and the only national innovation and entrepreneurship demonstration base in the energy sector, is beefing up efforts to promote the mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

Zhang Zhigang, deputy general manager of the State Grid Corp of China, said the company has taken a series of measures to innovate the way it engages in cooperation, such as opening up 100 labs to society.

"We will further implement the innovation-driven strategy and deepen the science and technological cooperation with others in the future, to better serve the entrepreneurs and innovators," Zhang explained.