NPC deputy: E China's Hefei optimizes business environment to spur economy

Hefei, the capital city of east China's Anhui province, made efforts to optimize its business environment and inject vitality into its industrial development and economic growth, said Ling Yun, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC).

Ling Yun, also mayor of the city, said Hefei's innovation-driven development has prioritized optimizing the business environment, which has delivered positive results in its technological and economic development.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Hefei's per capita GDP surpassed 110,000 yuan (US$ 16,863), with the city climbing the national economic aggregate rankings. A series of technological achievements were made, such as the quantum satellite Mozi and the Dark Matter Particle Explorer "Wukong," making the city a leader in the field of science and technology.

Ling said that Hefei has simplified the process for individuals and businesses to deal with government affairs. For example, by unifying standards and sharing information, the city shortened the time for the establishment of businesses to only one day. The time needed for property registrations was also reduced from five working days to three. 

To maximize the role of information technology in enhancing efficiency, Hefei established an online platform based on big data technologies. It integrated nearly 200 government service systems, allowing citizens to access single-window inter-agency services in one go. 

The city also actively worked to integrate into the online platform for government services in the neighboring Yangtze River Delta region. This enabled access via one website and remote processing of 65 government service items, so that more matters can be handled without the need for people to travel. In 2020, the city added more than 200,000 newly registered market entities, raising the total number to over 1.1 million.

Ling said it is of crucial importance to carry on institutional innovation, solve difficulties holding back business operations, and further revitalize the market. For example, Hefei has been committed to building an online transaction platform for public resources, which has helped allocate public resources in a more efficient way. In 2020, the trade volume of public resources in Hefei reached 372.226 billion yuan, up by 6.63% year on year.

By providing targeted financial policy support, the government made it easier for enterprises to access financing and reduced their overall financing costs. A total of 346 enterprises received a combined financing of 396 million yuan. In 2020, the inclusive finance lending to micro and small businesses reached 162.84 billion yuan.

In addition, the city also focused on strengthening intellectual property protection. China (Hefei) Intellectual Property Protection Center was set up in 2020, and the city has been building a complete IP-related system that ranges from creation, application, protection to management and services. 

Ling said that, to better serve businesses, the government should understand their needs and help them to better leverage policies. 

With these efforts, major headway has been made in the city. Since the China (Anhui) Pilot Free Trade Zone was inaugurated in 2020, the number of newly established enterprises in the FTZ's Hefei area had reached 2,656, and the registered capital of domestically funded enterprises had reached 51.3 billion yuan by the end of January this year. Meanwhile, 232 projects had been signed with a total investment of 107 billion yuan.