Bloomberg:

I had a question about real estate. For Beijing this year, in terms of stabilizing the real estate market, in terms of building more affordable social housing, in terms of redeveloping more parts of the city, are there any plans for 2024 that you can share with us? And in terms of restrictions on home purchases, is there more room to loosen those restrictions either in more districts of Beijing or at a greater degree across the city? Thank you.

Xia Linmao:

Thank you for your questions. Following the decisions and requirements of the Party Central Committee and the central government, the Beijing Municipal Government will scale up "three major projects" — the building of government-subsidized housing, the construction of dual-use public infrastructure that can accommodate emergency needs, and the redevelopment of urban villages — to accelerate the formation of a new real estate model. Just now, Mr. Yin explained that we will raise funds to build 70,000 government-subsidized rental housing units and complete 80,000 affordable housing units this year. We will increase the supply of "one bed" and "one room" products, focusing on resolving the housing problems of new urban residents, young people and migrant workers. In terms of choosing where to locate this housing, we will prioritize areas around subway stations and industrial zones where people work and live, and areas with good support infrastructure. 

At present, some villages located in the city's urban-rural fringe area, where is covered mostly by barriers for afforestation, urgently need improving and upgrading. We call these "urban villages," which have common problems, such as high public health risks, housing with significant fire hazards, underdeveloped support facilities, dirty environment, and challenging social governance. Citizens living in these areas are eagerly awaiting improvements. We will adopt three models in accordance with the functional orientations and development situations of different regions. The first model is demolishing and rebuilding, the second is upgrading and improving, and the third is a combination of the first and second. We will carry out critical tasks and focus on key parts in inner city areas and key ecological nodes. This year, we plan to redevelop 20 urban villages, eliminate potential safety hazards, improve people's quality of life and living environment, and upgrade the quality of urban development. We also hope that some demonstration projects will emerge during the process of redeveloping the urban villages.  

You also asked about real estate policy. We remain committed to the principle that housing is for living in and not for speculation, and are fully implementing Beijing's overall plan. We continue to adopt district-specific policies and targeted measures, and adhere to the principles of encouraging both housing rentals and purchases, integrating urban areas and industries, balancing job opportunities and housing provisions, and fostering an environment conducive to living and working in. We have been improving policies on real estate regulation to meet people’s demand for buying their first home or improving their housing situation, better meeting the multilevel and diverse needs of homebuyers, and promoting the healthy development of the real estate market in Beijing. Thank you.

China Daily:

It is widely accepted that fostering a world-class business environment is an important measure to offset downward risks to the economy and bolster confidence of market entities. We understand that the Meeting of International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Beijing will kick off soon and leading multinational companies will be invited to attend. My question is, how will Beijing further improve its business environment to boost the economic driving forces? Thank you.

Yin Yong:

Thank you for your question. I will answer this one. Fostering a good business environment provides a strong support for enterprises. We have continued to carry out various measures, and listened to enterprises' opinions and advice on Beijing's business environment, such as by visiting enterprises. Last weekend, we visited companies in Beijing such as PwC, Meituan and Alibaba. In a few days, we will hold the Meeting of International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Beijing, which you just mentioned. We will communicate in person with the heads of a dozen leading multinational companies and listen to their insights on Beijing's business environment.

We are keenly aware that there is always room for further improvement in the business environment. Over the years, we have facilitated its development and made leapfrog progress annually. To date, we have introduced more than 1,200 reform measures in this regard, leading to a reduction of over 60% in approval items, a 71% decrease in processing time, a 74% cut in mandatory materials, and the elimination of more than 320 previously-required permits. We have also rolled out the "one integrated license" policy across more than 40 sectors and introduced 62 one-stop government services. In addition, an integrated and comprehensive supervision system has been applied in 50 scenarios in a bid to streamline oversight efforts and prevent disruptions to business activities caused by redundant supervision procedures. Over 90% of business oversight is conducted through the random selection of both inspectors and inspection targets. Looking forward, we will adhere to a problem-oriented approach, improve businesses' sense of gain, and take it as our ultimate goal to enhance the city's strength in business-related services.

We need to make additional efforts in the following aspects:

First, we need to emphasize both top-level design and the experience of businesses. We must adopt both top-down and bottom-up approaches. Regarding top-down measures, we need to study advanced practices from various countries and cities and draw on their useful experience, including the World Bank's business environment evaluation framework. We should take a systemic approach and roll out reform measures across all aspects and links of the business environment, in a bid to comprehensively improve our service capacity and administrative efficiency. As for bottom-up measures, we need to heed the needs of businesses and base our policymaking efforts on their requirements. By addressing specific issues, we need to summarize our experience, develop a sound mechanism in this regard, and continue to tackle the most pressing difficulties and concerns of businesses. Take, for example, the hosting of economic and technological exhibitions involving foreign enterprises. Previously, obtaining approval for such events required 34 working days, 26 pieces of documentation, and nine procedures. However, after streamlining administrative procedures, we now only need six working days and 16 pieces of documentation. Building on this progress, we have extended our efforts to introduce more one-stop government services for approving large-scale commercial performances and sporting events.

Second, we need to provide businesses with both inclusive and tailored services. Inclusive services refer to measures that improve the overall business environment and benefit all enterprises with our reform measures. For instance, when encountering difficulties, many businesses opt to reach out to the service hotline 12345. Currently, this hotline receives an average of over 500 calls per day, redirecting business inquiries to relevant government bodies for further assistance. With general issues resolved within seven days and complex ones within 15 days, the hotline has achieved a satisfaction rate of 96.9% among enterprises. Another example is the mini-program of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality. This versatile mobile application is widely used by citizens to access government services. We have launched a dedicated section for business-related services within this mini-program, providing convenient access to solutions for 158 frequently asked business issues. In addition, recognizing that enterprises used to face difficulties accessing numerous and complex government policies, we have adopted AI models that integrate all sorts of policies and offer precise recommendations to businesses, ensuring more policies are accessed and enjoyed by businesses without the need for application. As for tailored services, we will provide customized services tailored to the needs of each enterprise. We have introduced a package of service policies and a "steward-style service" mechanism, and adopted a list-based management for the needs of enterprises. Both municipal and district-level governments have also established special task forces to deliver tailored services to specific sectors and regions. These task forces regularly visit relevant enterprises and provide all sorts of assistance directly at their doorstep. Such service policy packages and the "steward-style service" mechanism have become key highlights of Beijing's business environment.

Third, we need to focus on both development and security. We have always placed equal emphasis on upholding standardized management and fostering enterprise growth. We also encourage fair competition and compliant development among businesses. We will continue to improve the effectiveness of government supervisory efforts, making them more precise and well-conceived through the utilization of credit- and big data-based supervisory methods. In addition, we will reinforce comprehensive supervisory approaches, significantly increasing remote supervision in daily regulation and reducing the frequency of site inspections. These measures aim to create a safe and high-quality operating environment for businesses.

Thank you.