Chinese government promises quicker investment approval

Chinese government on Thursday promised to process investment applications in much shorter time by reforming its approval system.

Currently a company will need stamps from more than 30 government departments before its investment project is officially approved and they have to go through the procedure one by one.

By the end of this year, the number of such steps will reduce to two or three ones, said Xu Shaoshi, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislative session.

The rest of steps will be processed on government websites simultaneously, which will greatly shorten the time, Xu said.

The NDRC is negotiating with other departments to realize this reform, he said.

Chinese government eased investment approval procedure last year by canceling 15 approvals and delegating 23 approvals from the central to local government. Together with what had been done in 2013, 76 percent of administrative approvals have been abolished or delegated, Xu said.

A majority of foreign investment projects no longer need approval but registration. Only about 5 percent of foreign investment projects was subject to government approval, Xu said.

Chinese companies who invest abroad also go through easier procedure. Except those investing in sensitive countries, regions and industries, which account for less than 2 percent, they only need to register the projects on government websites, he said.

Premier Li Keqiang in the annual government work report stressed that one of the priorities in 2015 is to transform government functions and create a favorable and fair business environment.

The government is willing to exchange "less power with more market vitality", Li said. Endi