By Yuling Chen, iChongqing News

Chongqing- Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality further improves its business environment in align with the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, interpreted the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform recently. The interpretation followed the issuance of Chongqing Plan to Further Improve Business Environment  on July 23, 2019.

Jiangbeizui CBD area at night (photo by Si Qi)

The Plan is designed to equally protect the legitimate rights and interests of various market entities. Its formulation takes such into consideration as international and domestic advanced concepts and prevailing rules, the World Bank's ease of doing business index, the experience of optimizing the business environment in developed domestic regions, and innovation based on the actual situation of the municipality.

The Plan identifies priorities in 20 aspects involving starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, water, gas and networks, registering property, paying taxes, trading across borders, resolving insolvency, getting credit, protecting small and medium-sized investors, enforcing contracts, supervision of labor markets, government procurement, bidding, government services, intellectual property creation, protection and application, market supervision, and inclusive innovation. All together 91 targeted tasks and 206 specific measures.

Specifically, Chongqing will provide enterprise life cycle services. By the end of 2019, the business license, official seal engraving, invoice application, and employee registration will be completed within three working days. To improve the convenience of starting a business, Chongqing will also promote the online management platform for a whole process of electronic registration, electronic taxation, and social security.

In terms of cross-border trade, Chongqing will promote the electronic circulation of port operation documents based on the information platform of China (Chongqing) International Trade Single Window. Moreover, the municipality will facilitate cross-border trade by constructing smart ports and so on.

China improved its rank to the 46^th place among 190 economies in 2018 from 78^th the previous year, according to the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform report. The country will build market-oriented, internationalized business environment based on the rule of law and with openness, transparency, and predictability. And Chongqing Municipality determines to raise its business environment to first-class nationwide within three years.