Advancing Development Through Superior Business Environment

—Review of Changchun's Business Environment Optimization in 2024

 

The business environment plays a pivotal role in a city's development. Optimizing it is not only the city's strategic move to unleash productive forces but also its bold self-reform in entering the most difficult stage.

Walking through Changchun, the old industrial base in Northeast China, one can encounter new faces, such as entrepreneurs choosing to invest here, startups pursuing their dreams, and emerging projects that are steadily growing, which have become new markers of the city's progress.

As the city integrates more new elements and driving forces into its leapfrog development, it becomes evident that Changchun's increasingly business-friendly environment is amplifying its magnetic appeal and economic vitality.

 

Building an Efficient and Convenient Government Service Environment

An efficient government environment is fundamental to development, making optimizing government services a top priority. To delegate authority where needed while ensuring effective supervision, respond swiftly to business needs without unnecessary interference, expand service channels while fostering innovation, and integrate reform leadership with digital empowerment, in 2024, Changchun set the goal of "diversifying service methods, optimizing service procedures, simplifying required materials, and minimizing service costs". Through solid "one-stop government services" reform, the city enhanced administrative efficiency by simplifying procedures and leveraging digital transformation to make services more accessible, convenient, and faster.

 

Faster Processing—

The city implemented electronic registration of business entities throughout the process, enabling "one-stop online processing", "same-day completion", and "free services" for affairs related to market registration, public security, taxation, social security, housing provident fund, and banking.

It promoted the streamlined joint supply application for water, electricity, gas, heating, communications, and television services, reducing document review time to two working days and on-site inspection feedback time to three working days.

The "simplified approval" initiative was launched, allowing 956 types of electronic licenses across 47 categories to be shared without submission, reducing commitment periods for government services and administrative approvals by 83% and 78%, respectively, with immediate processing rates reaching 53% and 43%, respectively.

A fast patent pre-examination channel was established to offer pre-examination services for patent applications, along with the high-standard China (Changchun) Intellectual Property Protection Center, shortening the invention patent examination period to 3 to 6 months.

A direct policy access platform was built, integrating bank payment channels to enable instant policy benefits without application.

 

Deeper Reform—

The city implemented the "one-stop government services" reform by introducing a priority task list mechanism and a regular promotion mechanism, covering 36 key matters such as school enrollment and school bus licensing.

It also promoted integrated processing for related matters, commitment-based approval for incomplete documents, cross-regional handling of non-local matters, policy services without application, and certificate-free processing through information sharing. The offline government service system was enhanced through a four-tier linkage covering the city, county, township, and village levels, ensuring that over 95% of matters can be handled with a single visit to one department.

The city conducted the "six joint actions" to optimize the approval process for construction projects. Through joint involvement, it achieved the goal of one list for five parts; through joint review, it ensured a seamless process of one comprehensive map; through joint surveying, it integrated multiple surveys into a single procedure; through joint supply application, it realized four on-site services; through joint organization, it established a one-stop processing system; and through joint regulation, it enabled real-time supervision.

 

Better Services—

A citywide standardized regulation was established for 64 personalized elements across five categories of government service items. The standard compliance rate of government service halls at the municipal, county, township, and village levels reached 80%.

Efforts were made to decentralize specialized services, such as those for medical insurance, social security, housing provident funds, and vehicle management, to district-level government affairs service centers. Extended-hour services, including "non-stop noon services" and "holiday appointment services", were introduced. Additionally, "service stations" were set up in business buildings, technology parks, and other enterprise-dense areas to facilitate nearby, multi-point, and one-stop service access for businesses and the public.

An intelligent assistance and guidance system was developed to enhance the convenience of enterprise applications.

Twenty enterprise service offices and 265 "one-stop online processing" self-service zones were established across the city, significantly improving public service accessibility.

The success of "one-stop government services" is reflected in reduced procedures, streamlined approval processes, fewer documents required, shortened processing time, and fewer in-person visits. More importantly, it signifies the government's unwavering determination and courage in deepening government service reform and optimizing the business and public service experience.

To achieve greater heights, obstacles must be removed and stumbling blocks must be cleared. A small step in improving government services can lead to a big leap in enterprises' sense of gain. By reducing government intervention, a more dynamic and vibrant market can be fostered.

 

Creating a Business-Friendly and Secure Development Environment

Building a world-class business environment ultimately aims to attract projects, resources, enterprises, and talent. A city with a superior business environment naturally becomes a magnet for high-quality projects, capital, talent, and technology.

In 2024, Changchun actively shifted from a "government-centered" approach to an "enterprise-oriented" perspective, ensuring stronger policy support and fostering a cordial and clean relationship between the government and businesses.

 

Supporting Enterprises for Growth—

The city continued to ease market entry conditions for business entities by introducing "commitment-based registration", "one license for several addresses", and "one address for several licenses" policies, with a focus on addressing the difficulties faced by e-commerce businesses and individual businesses in morning and night markets in registering offline business locations, benefiting 395,000 business entities.

The "Fengqiao model" for tax services was implemented to provide taxpayers with a "one-stop" service experience, from reception upon entry to guided assistance throughout the process.

An innovative "precision matching" model for employment was introduced. On the strength of online service platforms such as "96885 Jiren Online", websites, WeChat official accounts, livestreaming recruitment, and WeChat groups, along with offline service platforms like human resource markets, the city dynamically and accurately pushed supply and demand information to enterprises and job seekers.

It enhanced government-bank-enterprise financing coordination by organizing financing matchmaking activities and other initiatives.

It also provided technology innovation services through a New Quality Productive Forces Development Promotion Center, integrating research, industry, talent, policies, finance, and other elements. The center has already entered trial operation.

 

Reducing Burdens and Increasing Momentum—

The city continued to advance the "Ten Thousand Officials Supporting Ten Thousand Enterprises" initiative, where 4,660 stationed (assisting) enterprise service officers maintained close ties with businesses, providing precise support and services for over 7,000 above-scale and high-growth enterprises. Throughout the year, they coordinated and resolved 1,215 development challenges for these enterprises.

 

Fostering a More Cordial and Cleaner Relationship—

The city established a rapid response mechanism for enterprise demands, handling business environment complaints and reports through the provincial intelligent business environment management platform, feedback from business environment supervisors, on-site corporate complaints, and other channels.

The city carried out a fully electronic bidding process, introduced "single-point to multi-point" remote bid evaluation, removed unreasonable restrictions in the bidding and procurement sector, and increased the procurement reservation quota for small and medium-sized enterprises to 51%.

Optimizing the business environment requires fostering a business-friendly and secure social atmosphere. Only in this way can the city enhance its attractiveness and cohesion, while driving investment promotion to achieve both "aggregation" and "breakthroughs".

Bridging the "last mile" of policy implementation ensures that tangible benefits reach all industries, cultivating fertile ground for a thriving business environment. This allows enterprises to enter with ease and stay with confidence.

 

Building a Transparent and Law-Based Business Environment

The rule of law is the best guarantee for a thriving business environment.

A city that establishes a law-based business environment can give businesses the confidence to invest and grow, thereby securing a competitive advantage.

In recent years, Changchun has effectively applied legal thinking and mechanisms to establish safeguards, define clear boundaries, and uphold fairness, fostering a market environment built on trust and integrity.

With intelligent empowerment, Changchun has established the Changchun Wisdom Legal District, enhancing judicial service functions, pooling legal resources, and expanding legal service offerings, aiming to become a legal service pacesetter with domestic and international influence. The city has also developed a "Smart Court" model. Relying on intelligent platforms and big data analysis, it has advanced smart trials, smart case processing, and smart enforcement, improving quality and efficiency in case processing through digital empowerment.

With innovation at the forefront, protecting innovation lies in protecting intellectual property and it is essential for accelerating the development of new quality productive forces. The city has established a National Intellectual Property Protection Demonstration Zone, enhancing capabilities in IP dispute mediation and infringement consulting, while offering patent pre-examination services.

With a practical and results-driven approach, Changchun ensures a balance between deregulation and effective governance, using the rule of law to delineate the boundaries between government and market. The city has carried out comprehensive law enforcement reforms in market regulation, promoting interdepartmental oversight conducted through the random selection of both inspectors and inspection targets and the prompt release of results, and enabling a one-time comprehensive inspection of enterprises. Additionally, AI-powered enforcement filing reforms have been introduced, requiring administrative inspections to display QR codes for higher work efficiency. The city has also explored an enforcement "observation period" system and adopted a regulatory model that the law-abiding are let be. To mitigate legal risks for enterprises, the city has mobilized professional lawyers to provide free "legal compliance checks", addressing corporate legal service needs in labor relations, financing, and risk prevention. Strengthening government-court collaboration, the city has established 17 Administrative Dispute Resolution Centers, fully launched the "Officials Entering the Grid" initiative, and integrated 49 people's courts into a court mediation platform, forming a three-dimensional pattern of resolving disputes.

Furthermore, Changchun has significantly enhanced its credit system by accumulating 4.56 billion credit records and completing over 4,200 one-stop credit restorations. As of July 2024, the city's comprehensive credit index ranked second nationwide among 36 provincial capitals and cities above the sub-provincial level, first among all capital cities, and first among the four major cities in Northeast China, securing its place among China's top-tier cities.

A world-class business environment requires a solid foundation. True simplicity does not require ornamentation, and great skill appears effortless. The foundation can only be forged through the rule of law, which ensures steady progress and long-term sustainability. Only then can the city truly nurture and support each budding business, allowing them to take root and bloom.

With a superior environment driving progress, Changchun remains steadfast in its commitment to optimizing the business environment.

Source: Changchun Daily       Editor: LI Ye