China needs to further improve its business environment as the effects of financial and fiscal tools wane, a vice chairman of China's top economic planner said on Monday.
Further improving the business environment will be a key area, said Lin Nianxiu, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The comments came after China posted slower GDP growth of 6 percent for the third quarter. But the country also rose to 31st in the World Bank's ease of doing business rankings report last week.
Ten localities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xiamen, shared their experience at a forum for promoting best practice hosted by the NDRC in Beijing on Monday.
Some of the key factors mentioned were direct attention from top local officials, digitizing government services with big data and cloud computing, promoting the environment by advancing laws, setting up funds to ensure easier financing, and following current best international practice.
Shenzhen started a program to grant business licenses for entrepreneurs online within a minute in September.
Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province treats Singapore as its teacher in terms of the business environment and the city aims to cut the time required for starting a company to two and a half days by the end of 2019.
China is also ranking its domestic cities nationwide as a way to inspire best practice.
Efforts to improve the business environment will include simplifying business registration, easier access to electricity and water, easier construction permits and simplifying exporting and importing.
China became the first country in the world to roll out a law for improving the business climate, when the State Council, China's cabinet, last week made public a regulation for optimizing the business environment.
The new regulation will take effect on January 1, 2020.
Tian Guangqiang, an assistant research fellow with the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that as globalization faces headwinds, countries may look inwards to seek strength.
"So, to a certain extent, further improving the business environment might be China's next tool," Tian told the Global Times on Monday.
