Last year, the fees levied on the park by local and central governments were reduced by more than 300,000 yuan, according to Zhao. While she expressed approval for the changes, Zhao is more interested in the removal of administrative hurdles.
Weimeinuo welcomed 10 new companies last year, and scores of startups registered to share business premises there in accordance with measures released in 2014 that cut rents and costs.
The State Council also decided to roll out a host of reform measures that had been piloted in eight areas, aiming to allow innovation to spur entrepreneurship and employment, and accelerate the transformation of innovation into real productivity.
Flourishing
In the first three quarters of last year, new business registrations rose 12.5 percent as an average 16,500 new businesses were registered every day.
A report published by the Center for China and Globalization, the country's largest independent think tank which specializes in globalization and international cultural exchanges, showed that more than 40 percent of people who returned to the country last year after studying overseas joined private companies.
In 2014, Wang Shengdi founded Daddy's Choice Co, which makes paper diapers, directly after gaining an MBA from Cornell University in New York because the "real economy is crucial for China, and I want to contribute".
The company now has more than 500 employees, and its young CEO has been impressed by the government's preferential policies for startups, especially the expansion of financing channels for small businesses.
Miao Lyu, co-founder of the Center for China and Globalization, said the State Council's decision to aid domestic startups and attract foreign businesses has ignited competition in innovation and industrial parks, and in business incubators nationwide.
Tax reform
Since May 2016, China has expanded tax reform to all industries, using tailored measures and a number of incentives to reduce the tax burden on companies and nurture business vitality.
In November, the State Council approved a regulation that replaced corporate tax with value-added tax.
The move marked a mile-stone in the reform process by signaling the end of corporate tax, which was introduced in the 1950s.
Last year, the State Council's executive meetings produced three guidelines and documents related to tax reform and the reduction of fees levied on companies.
In addition, Premier Li chaired a number of seminars that centered on tax reform.
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the tax burden and charges levied on companies has been reduced by more than 1 trillion yuan since VAT was launched nationally in May 2016.
