The Changchun Business Environment Optimization Regulations will come into effect on January 1, 2024. The introduction of the Regulations will provide robust legal support for further optimizing the business environment in Changchun, nurturing and expanding business entities, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of business entities, stimulating the vitality of business entities, and promoting high-quality economic and social development. The Regulations highlights the guidance of legislation, aligning with the latest reform measures at the national and provincial levels to facilitate the smooth progress of the reform of "streamlining administration, delegating powers, and improving regulation and services". It emphasizes the guarantee of legislation by identifying key issues that affect the business environment in Changchun, designing institutional frameworks for key areas and critical links, and promoting the implementation of various reform measures. Additionally, it represents complementary legislation by refining and supplementing provisions of existing national and provincial laws and regulations related to optimizing the business environment.

 

A favorable business environment is the foundation for high-quality development.

 

The Regulations clarifies the guiding ideology for optimizing the business environment, adheres to principles of marketization, legalization, and internationalization, and benchmarks against domestic and international advanced levels to create a stable, fair, transparent, and predictable business environment. It specifies the management system for optimizing the business environment and requires municipal, county (city), and district governments to strengthen leadership in optimizing the business environment while including such work in government performance appraisal. It also outlines reform measures to optimize the business environment and requires governments and relevant departments to explore innovative ways of optimizing the business environment in light of the actual situation and start pilot programs in innovation demonstration zones and development zones to create replicable and propagable practices for optimizing the business environment.

 

To address challenges faced by business entities and create a market environment that benefits enterprises, the Regulations explicitly states the continuous removal of market access barriers and the reduction of entry costs for business entities. It stipulates the implementation of a nationwide unified negative list system for market access, allowing all types of business entities to enter areas outside the negative list on an equal and legal basis. It also stipulates the optimization of the business entity registration process by merging the business license application with social security registration, housing provident fund registration, seal production, invoice issuance, and other processes and carrying out on-the-spot, one-time, and time-limited processing. The "separation of permits and licenses" reform is promoted, stipulating that, except for specific areas defined by laws and administrative regulations, matters related to enterprise operation permits cannot be prerequisites for the registration of business entities.

 

To strengthen business entity services, innovate government service modes, and enhance the quality and efficiency of government services, a system of the list of rights and liabilities is established, through which administrative authority and its legal basis, executing bodies, operational process, and corresponding responsibilities of the government and its departments will be publicly disclosed. It specifies the lawful compilation and publication of a certification list and matters not included in this list cannot be required from business entities. It also stipulates the compilation of lists and guides for government service matters at the municipal, county (city) and district, and township (sub-district) levels, which will be publicly released and regularly updated, and the establishment of a government service system at the municipal, county (city) and district, township (sub-district), and village (community) levels, reinforcing the standardization of government service windows.