Business environment in China to be improved further, says NDRC official

China will continue to accelerate the push for improving its business environment in an effort to spur high-quality economic development amid mounting downside pressure and uncertainties, the country's top economic regulator said on Friday.

Lin Nianxiu, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said a good business environment will help vitalize the market, boost innovation and entrepreneurship, expand opening-up and build an open economy at a higher level.

"In the face of new challenges brought by the COVID-19 outbreak and rapid changes in the global economic and trade situation, China is speeding up the construction of a new economic development pattern that takes the domestic market as the mainstay while domestic and foreign markets complement each other," Lin said during a news conference on Friday.

"The requirement for a better business environment to stabilize the economic fundamentals … is more urgent."

Citing the China's Business Environment 2020 report released during the conference, Lin said considerable progress has been made in improving the business environment in the nation.

"During the past five years, China's business environment has seen continuous improvement in terms of institutional systems, simplified administration, delegated power, improved regulation and law enforcement, government services and satisfaction among enterprises, which has effectively promoted the sustainable and healthy development of the economy and society," Lin said.

The official said there are still gaps in creating a better market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment between China and other advanced countries and regions. "Amid current complicated and grim economic situation and uncertainties… (We need to) press ahead with reforms to streamline the administration and delegate power, improve regulations, upgrade services and continue to foster a world-class business environment."

More efforts are needed to deepen market reforms, ease market access, carry out work in a law-based manner, enhance service efficiency and continuously improve the nationally unified standard for China's business environment evaluation system, said Lin.

Cui Weijie, director of the Institute of Industry Development and Strategy, which is a part of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said: "China has made noticeable achievements in business environment optimization, especially in key fields such as facilitating cross-border trade and shortening negative lists."

Citing the new regulation on business environment optimization, which took effect on Jan 1, Cui said it was part of the country's ongoing efforts to boost productivity and competitiveness.

"The government needs to make a big push to further improve the business environment in key fields, especially where enterprises are concerned, such as trade, investment, opening-up and innovation," said Cui.

According to the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report, China was among the top 10 nations that saw considerable improvement in business matters for two years in a row. On a yearly basis, China moved up by 15 places from the 2019 ranking to the 31st position this year among the 190 economies mentioned in the report.