City aims to boost market vitality, create business environment

Guangzhou is an important hub in South China. [Photo/China Daily]

 To further boost economic growth in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou in Guangdong province is taking the lead in stimulating market vitality and optimizing the business environment.

The local government issued a draft law named the Guangzhou City Regulations on Optimizing the Business Environment earlier this year, aiming at solving conflicts for enterprises and building an efficient government service system.

The regulations focus on deepening reforms in the establishment of enterprises, project approval, water, gas, power supply, financing and deregistration.

Regarding the reform of administrative approval, Guangzhou will implement the "one-website, one-window access" model for startups and build the registration system in economic zones to reduce time limits.

The "one certificate" approval model will promote the one-time cancellation of enterprises with the tax clearance commitment system. It will also improve the convenience of business establishment and cancellation.

The regulations have also solved finance difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises. For example, they proposes improving the unified registration system of enterprise movable property, clarifying the scope of collateral for guaranteed financing, establishing an inclusive loan risk compensation mechanism and developing financial products.

The regulations propose to establish a data-sharing and business cooperation mechanism supported by applying modern information technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence in public services, administrative inspections and judicial protections.

In addition, the regulations stipulate that market entities' independent management rights, property rights and other legal rights and interests shall be protected in accordance with the law.

All types of market entities shall be guaranteed equal use of various production resources in accordance with the law so they can equally enjoy the support policies.

Guangzhou had the top comprehensive score for business environments among 34 major cities in China in 2018, according to a report issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Scientific Research Bureau of the CASS, the Institute of Sociology of the CASS and the Social Science Literature Publishing House.

Guangzhou is a city with the most developed manufacturing and service industries in South China.

In recent years, it has developed a new generation of information technology, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and new energy, new materials and other strategic emerging areas.

The city has formed complete industrial chains of new displays, integrated circuits, intelligent new energy vehicles rail transit, and biomedicine.

Guangzhou has obvious advantages in its science and education resources.

There are 82 colleges and universities, 20 national and 233 provincial key laboratories.

Last year, the number of patent applications reached 173,000 and invention applications exceeded 50,000.

From January to September, the number of patents and invention patents granted increased by 19.4 percent and 16.8 percent.

The turnover of technology contracts exceeded 30 billion yuan, an increase of over 60 percent year-on-year.

The number of enterprises has grown rapidly, with an average of over 900 new enterprises per day. Guangzhou has the largest area and greatest population among the four core cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with vast hinterland support and strong domestic demand.

Various transport methods such as land, sea, air, railway and river are available. Seaports, airports, railway ports, and information ports are well-developed.

The Guangzhou Port has routes connecting more than 400 ports in more than 100 countries and regions in the world, making it the fifth largest port in the world.

The number of high-speed trains in Guangzhou ranks first in the country, and the number of passengers arriving at Guangzhou South Railway Station ranks first in the country.

Guangzhou is an important hub, internet exchange center and international gateway in China. These have created favorable conditions for the expansion of the enterprise market.