China to cut red tape for better business environment

China has decided to further cut red tape by integrating separate business licenses to improve the business environment and stimulate market vitality.

All certificates related to business registration will continue to be sorted and merged into one license, according to a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.

The government expects the move -- another step in loosening the grip on the market -- will create a more favorable business environment, allow a faster and more convenient process for setting up businesses, and improve productivity.

The new policy will be applied to all industries and regions, said a statement released after the meeting.

Registration items with no legal basis or those set without due legal procedures will be canceled, and exceptions due to safety and security concerns will be subject to stricter supervision.

Five pre-setup approval items, including that for establishing wholly foreign-owned printing companies, will be replaced by post-setup approvals.

Of all the 226 pre-setup approval items in business registration, 87 percent have been canceled or replaced by post-setup approvals, the statement said.

In the face of downward pressures, China has rolled out an array of measures to streamline administration and give the market greater say in hopes of sustaining economic growth. Business registration reforms were initiated in March 2014 by lowering barriers for market entry and cutting red tape.

Thanks to the efforts, around 1.26 million new firms were registered in the first quarter, up 18 percent from a year ago.

The meeting also agreed to further develop disaster insurance in agriculture to improve farmers' incomes and help modernize the sector.

New insurance products will be promoted in around 200 counties from 13 grain-producing provinces this year and in 2018, including Hebei, Heilongjiang and Anhui. Family farms, commercial farms and farmers' cooperatives that grow rice, wheat and corn will benefit.

The central government will pay 47.5 percent of the insurance premium for the insured in central and western regions and 45 percent for those in eastern regions, both up from current levels.