China Daily:

We noted that Ningxia has held the Conference on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Private Economy and the Comprehensive Improvement of the Business Environment for two consecutive years and has introduced a series of measures. Could you please outline Ningxia's solid progress in optimizing the business environment? What measures will be taken in the next step? Thank you.

Zhang Yupu:

I'll invite Mr. Wang Li to answer your questions.

Wang Li:

In recent years, Ningxia has consistently prioritized optimizing the business environment as the top priority for high-standard opening-up and high-quality development. We have achieved positive results by benchmarking against international first-class standards and extensively drawing on the experiences and practices of advanced regions at home and abroad. The proportion and growth rate of private investment in Ningxia are among the highest nationwide. Yinchuan city has been selected as a benchmark city for China's business environment, and in the national business environment evaluation organized by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ningxia has seen 12 indicators rank among the top nationwide. We deeply understand that there is always room for improving the business environment. Moving forward, Ningxia will uphold the concept that "a good business environment is the greatest competitiveness" and strive to build an attractive and competitive investment hub in the western region.

In terms of government services, we have endeavored to enhance convenience. After years of effort, 95.3% of government services in Ningxia can be handled online, and the time required for business registration has been reduced to within three hours. Integrated government services and administrative licensing list management are at the forefront nationally. This year, we have significantly advanced our digital government initiatives. We have fully launched "one-stop government services" and established project approval mechanisms, including "one visit only, handling within a time limit, and reducing required materials and procedures." Additionally, we have upgraded the My Ningxia app, enabling more services to be conducted via smartphone and QR code. These efforts provide faster approvals, smoother processes, and higher efficiency, greatly assisting both the public and businesses.

In terms of supporting the development of enterprises, we have strived to increase their satisfaction. The business environment is a form of soft power, while enterprise satisfaction is a critical standard. The Ningxia government always treats entrepreneurs as family, considers the affairs of enterprises as its own, and ensures that whenever an enterprise has a need, the government acts immediately. This year, we launched a three-year action plan for the high-quality development of the private economy and systematically introduced ten mechanisms to serve and support the private sector. For example, for small and micro enterprises temporarily facing difficulties, we have implemented measures to ensure that water, electricity, gas, and heating supplies are not interrupted due to arrears. We have fully implemented tax and fee reduction policies to help enterprises solve problems, reduce costs, and take specific steps to make them feel safe, assured, and comfortable in Ningxia.

In terms of building a business environment, we have strived to make the market fairer. Ningxia has always been committed to creating a market environment of fair competition and fully implementing the negative list system for market access. In recent years, newly registered market entities have increased rapidly, with a 17.2% increase in 2023. This year, we will continue to improve the law-based business environment, further streamline the approval process for market access, and rectify practices involving unequal treatment of enterprises on a case-by-case basis. Our goal is to make the market environment fairer and to create the best possible ecological environment for the development of enterprises.

That's all for my introduction, thank you.