China Daily:

Recently, Zhejiang province's "one-stop service window for unresolved issues" has attracted attention online and in the media, even trending on social media. Could you please share with us any future innovations and explorations the province plans to undertake to improve the business environment and provide convenience to enterprises? Thank you.

Xu Wenguang:

Thank you for your question. I appreciate everyone's concern for Zhejiang province's business environment. The business environment is a concentrated reflection of comprehensive competitiveness, closely related to Mr. Du Xuliang's previous answer regarding the private economy. Zhejiang province has never stopped its steps to optimize business environment, including  improvement of work efficiency, "four lists and one network" reform, "one-stop service " project and the digital transition. Since 2023, the province has vigorously implemented the "No.1 Reform Project" to optimize and upgrade the business environment, led by the reform of value-added government services, continuously promoting the business environment to the forefront of the country. Zhejiang has been rated as the province with the best reputation for the business environment by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce for four consecutive years. By the way, I am the team leader of this project. 

The value-added reform of government services we are promoting can be summarized into four new methods:

First, we have created a new platform where all kinds of matters can be handled in one location. By leveraging existing local government service centers, we have established comprehensive enterprise service centers. Here, businesses can access not only basic government services, such as convenient approvals, but also enjoy customized, advanced services according to their needs. For example, when opening a restaurant, not only can basic government services such as registration and seal engraving be handled at one time, but more than 10 value-added services, such as catering site surveys and fire safety guidance, can also be provided at the same time. The one-stop service window you just mentioned is set up in the comprehensive enterprise service center, ensuring that all kinds of matters and complicated issues that are difficult to handle through conventional "technical judgment" but should be managed based on "value judgment" can all be resolved here.

Second, we have provided directly accessible new experiences that strengthen digital intelligence empowerment policies. Leveraging the achievements of digital reform, we created an online "policy calculator" to accurately deliver the 32 policies for high-quality development of the private sector and other enterprise-friendly policies issued by our province directly to enterprises, allowing them to access and benefit from the policies without needing to apply. We transformed the business environment from "enterprises searching for policies" to "policies finding enterprises." In 2023, Zhejiang distributed 71.2 billion yuan in rewards and subsidies, reducing the financial burden on market entities by more than 330 billion yuan.

Third, we have built a new mechanism for the efficient, closed-loop resolution of enterprise-related issues. The most effective approach involves proactively addressing the demands of enterprises and solving their various challenges. We have established an efficient closed-loop resolution mechanism for enterprise-related issues, striving to collect and efficiently resolve enterprise-related issues on a multi-tiered, multi-level and categorized basis. We call it the "three-classification mechanism." This mechanism shifts away from the traditional reliance on personal acquaintances and interpersonal relationships when enterprises encounter problems. Instead, it provides institutional arrangements between the government and businesses, as well as business environment evaluation.

Fourth, we have made new breakthroughs in addressing challenging issues. We concentrate on areas such as bidding, intermediary services, intellectual property protection, and the relationship between government and business. We have planned and implemented special initiatives to remove various institutional barriers to enhance the sense of gain and degree of satisfaction among enterprises and the public. For example, to cultivate a cordial and clean relationship between government and business, we issued behavioral guidelines and formulated three lists to categorize positive, negative, and recommended interactions between government and business.

There is no best business environment, only a better one. Zhejiang will further advance the "No. 1 Reform Project" to improve the business environment, providing a strong impetus for developing new quality productive forces and promoting high-quality development.

That's all from me for this question. Thank you.