Premier Li urges Shanghai to take the lead in improving business environment
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail SHINE, April 11, 2018
Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday paid a visit to the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and urged Shanghai to be a model city for China in continuing to optimize the business environment.
![Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday pays a visit to the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. [Photo/www.gov.cn]](http://images.china.cn/site1007/2018-04/11/23f7d4d4-4e00-42f9-8900-75b80d433ae9.jpg "Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday pays a visit to the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. [Photo/www.gov.cn]")
This visit was Li’s first inspection tour after he was re-elected in March as China’s premier.
“Shanghai has been recognized by the World Bank as a sample city to gauge the business environment in the Chinese mainland,” Li said during his visit to the corporate service center in Zhangjiang of Pudong New Area, which is part of the Shanghai FTZ.
“Shanghai should live up to the great expectations through beefing up efforts to improve its business environment and to reduce operational costs for companies with more investor-friendly policies … and the Shanghai FTZ should endeavor to present a better version of itself,” Li said.
In 2013, Li had his first inspection tour as the premier to Shanghai, facilitating the official establishment of the Shanghai FTZ in the same year. The number of newly registered companies in the area now is 1.5 times more than that before the launch of the zone, and more than 40 percent of Shanghai’s trade comes from the zone, whose area only accounts for 2 percent of the city’s total.
Li also praised Shanghai’s efforts on cutting red tape and making it easier to start a new business.
On March 31, Shanghai launched a one-stop service platform to facilitate online application for and approval of business licenses and other related matters.
“This is nothing trivial as it may seem to be,” Li said. “In fact, the move is a big step forward to show the government’s determination in transforming its role. We should 'let data work,’ not 'let people walk,’ to make it easier for business and make administrative procedures more efficient, which can help stimulate vitality of the market.”
During the visit, Li also reviewed the development of free trade account, which is among the policy innovations in the zone. The free trade account is expected to help companies cut financing costs.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)