Streamlining bid to be redoubled to boost foreign investment, Li says
Updated: 2016-05-10 07:36
By Zhang Yue/Hu Yongqi(China Daily)
|
|||||||||
Premier Li Keqiang said at a May 9 telecommunication conference on streamlining administration in Beijing. [Photo/www.gov.cn] |
Efforts to streamline government administration, transform government functions and boost efficiency will be redoubled to spur economic vitality and attract overseas investment, Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday in Beijing.
The streamlining drive is aimed at meeting the requirements for another round of opening-up and at improving China's global competitiveness, Li told a national teleconference.
"We used to rely on our demographic dividend, but today such a dividend is diminishing," he said.
The premier said streamlining administration is also a step toward further opening-up and nurturing new competence in a global context.
At the teleconference, Shanghai shared its experience in these efforts. The city's free trade zone has introduced a much-reduced negative list for foreign investment, which has cut special administrative measures by more than one-third.
The Shanghai government has also explored new business registration policies, cutting the company registration time from 29 days to less than four. In the free trade zone, more than 100 new measures have been implemented and international trade has its own channel.
The time taken for customs clearance procedures has been cut by 40 percent.
Li said these measures have made a difference, and China's business environment has greatly improved in recent years and market access has been further opened up.
According to the World Bank, China has risen six places in a year to 84th spot out of 189 economies in terms of convenience of conducting business.
But its conventional advantages in the global economy started to wane in recent years. Both foreign trade growth and overseas investment have declined, due in part to weakening international demand and China's business environment.
Last month, China's foreign trade stood at 1.95 trillion yuan ($300 billion), a fall of 0.3 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Chen Fengying, a global economy researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said China is facing insufficient external demand for goods and growing internal demand for better salaries and welfare.
Some processing manufacturing moved to South and Southeast Asia to reduce labor costs, but China has a sounder legal system and can improve its "software" by streamlining administrative processes, Chen said.
- CPC creates cartoon to show how officials are selected
- Top 5 expected highlights at CES Asia 2016
- Business jet market hits air pocket
- Canada getting on top of Alberta wildfire, Fort McMurray off limits
- Young golfers enjoy the rub of the green
- 71st anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany marked
- Post-90s girl organizes others’ messy wardrobes
- Landslide hit hydropower station in SE China
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Anti-graft campaign targets poverty relief |
Cherry blossom signal arrival of spring |
In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products |
China's southernmost city to plant 500,000 trees |
Cavers make rare finds in Guangxi expedition |
Cutting hair for Longtaitou Festival |
Today's Top News
Liang avoids jail in shooting death
China's finance minister addresses ratings downgrade
Duke alumni visit Chinese Embassy
Marriott unlikely to top Anbang offer for Starwood: Observers
Chinese biopharma debuts on Nasdaq
What ends Jeb Bush's White House hopes
Investigation for Nicolas's campaign
Will US-ASEAN meeting be good for region?
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |