Mayor reveals slew of reforms over past few years helped corporations thrive in capital
A robust business environment serves as fertile ground for the survival and advancement of enterprises, acting as a cornerstone of sustainable economic and social progress, Beijing officials said.
"Beijing will steadfastly adopt a problem solving-oriented approach, with the ultimate goal of enhancing enterprises' sense of accomplishment, while striving to forge the 'Beijing Service' brand for the business ecosystem," said Yin Yong, mayor of the city.
Yin noted that in recent years, the Chinese capital has promoted the development of the business environment, annually refining reform strategies and introducing a total of more than 1,500 reforms.
According to the Beijing Business Environment Development Report (2019-24), the city has adhered to optimizing government services, with a focus on promptly and efficiently addressing the needs of enterprises and the public.
It has established a standardized and well-run government service system that integrates online and offline services, said the report. This systematic approach aims to drive government management and service reform and innovation in a coordinated manner, elevating the digitization and intelligence levels of government services.
Moreover, a sound government service framework has been established at municipal, district, township and village levels, offering enterprises and the public streamlined and integrated services.
Beijing has instituted a set of standards across government services. Notably, efforts have been made to enhance the standardization of service platforms by consolidating various matters from several departments into government service halls to assist one-stop processing.
The municipal government service hall was established in 2015, and now has 60 departments and public utility enterprises.
Over the past five years, the city has placed emphasis on bolstering the development of digital government affairs, creating a high-level "one network for all services "framework.
A total of 70 municipal government departments, alongside those from Beijing's 16 districts and economic and technological development zones, are on the city's government service network. This ensures the seamless integration of service elements across different levels, departments, and regions.
Additionally, an index for public participation in the monitoring and evaluation of government services has been established. It promotes an evaluation system encompassing government service matters, evaluation targets, and multiple service channels.
Beijing has also supported the establishment of 23 high-quality industrial parks, hosting more than 300 diverse sci-tech innovation service platforms.
Of these, 12 parks have launched government service platforms, catering to more than 1,000 service items and serving nearly 600 companies on a monthly basis.
As the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region enters a new phase, Beijing has introduced innovative measures to enhance the standardization and accessibility of government services in the region.
These initiatives span various areas such as business registration, one-stop online services, long-term mutual recognition mechanisms for investor qualifications, and public service co-construction and sharing.
Looking ahead, Mayor Yin said that Beijing will persist in learning practices and experiences from various countries and cities.The city will drive comprehensive business environment reforms across all stages and aspects, aiming to elevate the overall business environment.
Additionally, the city plans to continually refine the service mechanism by solving specific enterprise problems and providing tailored services to meet individual corporate needs, he added.
Desserts inspired by Beijing's Central Axis attract visitors' attention during the 2025 conference on optimizing Dongcheng district's business environment and promoting high-quality economic development on Feb 7.
Equal footing and legal support policies to draw in overseas companies
Beijing implemented a series of measures over the past six years to attract foreign investment, aid cross-border trade and provide internationalized services, fostering a more equitable and convenient business environment for foreign trade and foreign-funded enterprises, according to a report.
The Beijing Business Environment Development Report (2019-24) shows that during those years, Beijing introduced regulations on foreign investment and measures to enhance the city's attractiveness and friendliness toward foreign investors.
The regulations focus on improving the quality of foreign capital utilization, ensuring national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises, and enhancing investment protection, as outlined in the report on the city's business climate development from 2019-24 composed by the municipal government.
Over six years, Beijing reviewed policies that were inconsistent for domestic and foreign investors in areas such as government procurement, standard setting, subsidies, and technology policies to ensure that policies supporting business development were equally applicable to foreign-funded enterprises.
To streamline foreign investment registration procedures, Beijing enabled online facial recognition and bank card verification for overseas registrants. The city's government service hotline 12345 offers assistance in eight languages.
The city also upgraded the "International Web Portal of Beijing" website, the official web portal for the Beijing government. It consolidates more than 500 foreign investment policies and provides more than 300 user-friendly guides. The city also launched an English-language "Beijing Service" WeChat account.
Furthermore, the city prepared English materials such as the Invest Beijing: Beijing Foreign Investment Guide (2023-24) and English videos on the city's investment opportunities and policies. These are available on the International Web Portal of Beijing, WeChat and Sina Weibo.
To address the lengthy and complex procedures involved in processing exports, Beijing Capital International Airport introduced a direct transfer service. It allows domestic cargo to be transferred to warehouses for export operations upon arrival at the airport.
This streamlined process has reduced the number of transfers from four to one, cutting the processing time from 24-36 hours to just four to eight hours and companies' operational costs by 20 percent.
During the past six years, Beijing optimized legal and intellectual property services to better protect and support foreign trade and foreign-funded enterprises.
Beijing is now home to more than 30 bases for training lawyers on handling international cases. A talent pool of internationally oriented lawyers within the Beijing Lawyers Association was established, bringing together legal service organizations and legal professionals with expertise in international domains.
China's first overseas intellectual property public service database was launched in Beijing, providing more than 112,000 pieces of litigation information from 98 countries and regions. It has saved companies an estimated 200 million yuan ($27.3 million) in overseas information procurement costs.
Apple Inc's booth at the second China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing in November 2024.
City's scientific credentials rank among nation's best
Beijing's scientific research investment intensity — the proportion of such research and development expenditure to regional GDP — remained above 6 percent, ranking among the top cities in China and worldwide, according to the Beijing Business Environment Development Report (2024).
Local officials said Beijing has been improving its business environment to boost scientific and technological innovation and build itself into an international sci-tech innovation center.
Data from the report showed that there are more than 550,000 researchers and 77 national key laboratories in the city, which account for about 28 percent of the national total. It also has nine innovative research institutions focused on the frontiers of science and technology. They have made significant achievements, including a new-generation quantum computing cloud platform and intelligent brain-computer interfaces.
In recent years, the city has made sustained efforts to advance its "three cities, one area", which are positioned as the main platforms for the construction of the Beijing International Center for Science and Technology Innovation.
These include Zhongguancun Science City, Huairou Science City, Future Science City and the Innovative Industrial Cluster Demonstration Zone.
To encourage R&D in enterprises and accelerate research results' application, city authorities have created incentives for small and micro-sized tech companies and provided customized services for unicorn enterprises — startups valued at more than $1 billion.
For enterprises applying for high-tech company certification, the procedure and needed materials have been simplified, leading to a reduction of more than 80 percent in the review period.
The capital has also set up an online sci-tech service platform, allowing enterprises to find the policies, research results, cooperation, funds, spaces and facilities they need. So far, the platform has received more than 16.17 million visits and served people from 150 countries and regions.
In addition, Beijing is committed to attracting and retaining talents from around the world.
It has established the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Talent Exchange and Cooperation Demonstration Zone in Shunyi district and the International Talents Service Area in Zhongguancun, Haidian district. The latter can give international talents a total of 32 services concerning administrative affairs, living support and career development.
Since 2020, the city has held the HICOOL Global Entrepreneur Summit and Entrepreneurship Competition annually, with over 30,000 participants from 145 countries.
Based on the competition, a comprehensive entrepreneurship service system has been established. It integrates talent selection and "one-to-one" services as well as different support programs through business schools, funds, industrial parks, and digital platforms, local officials said.
The total number of talent resources in Beijing exceeds 8 million, with the talent density surpassing 70 percent, according to the report.
Rules and regulations help stabilize operations
Beijing is creating a stable, fair, transparent and predictable business environment built around the rule of law. With continuous efforts in enhancing legislation, safeguarding enterprises' rights, expanding dispute resolution channels and strengthening intellectual property protection, the capital has reinforced its specialized legislation to fuel market entities this year.
For instance, a recent amendment with a total of six chapters and 94 articles was made to the Beijing Regulations on Optimizing Business Environment. Enacted in 2020, it integrates advanced international practices while solidifying the city's own approaches.
It has also launched an innovative pilot reform to list businesses with low risk and good credit as "no disturbance" enterprises.Under the reform, except for cases involving complaints, legal proceedings, or special checks, these enterprises will face minimal on-site inspections. As of now, 105,000 businesses have been included in the list, according to the Beijing Business Environment Development Report (2019-24).
Furthermore, Beijing is advancing the construction of smart courts, separating simple and complex cases, and pushing for full online processing of civil and commercial cases.
It has introduced a system for 24-hour online filings and launched a court integrated delivery platform for all judicial appraisal procedures. Currently, the average processing time for commercial cases has been reduced from113 daysin 2023 to 83 days.In 2023, 69.78 percent of court hearings in Beijing were conducted online. The courts provided online services such as case filing, electronic delivery, live hearings, and blockchain-based evidence preservation a total of 4.08 million times, according to the report.
To mediate disputes related to private enterprise ownership and property rights protection, Beijing courts are intensifying cooperation with local chambers of commerce at different levels.
The city has established the Beijing Bankruptcy Court, pioneered the creation of a coordinated mechanism for corporate bankruptcy and market exit, and revamped the system that restores and publicizes credit for reorganized enterprises, advancing the corporate bankruptcy system.
Over the past five years, the Beijing Bankruptcy Court has introduced investments totaling155.5 billion yuan ($21.4 billion) into bankruptcy cases and resolved debts amounting to 620 billion yuan. The move has enabled nearly 900 enterprisesto keep running and guaranteed more than96,000 jobs, the report shows.
Still, the city formulated an array of policies strengthening IP protection and built a framework for IP systems, development and practices.
Specifically, Beijing is deepening its "one-stop" IP dispute resolution mechanism, integrating administrative, judicial, arbitration, mediation, notarial, and appraisal resources. It combines online and offline methods to quickly assist innovators in protecting their rights. There are 108 IP service stations in Beijing's key industrial parks and incubators, serving more than 44,000 enterprises.
In particular, it expands the range of patent pre-examination services, especially for fields such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits and quantum information.
Financial ecosystem improved in metropolis
Beijing is creating a multipronged financial system to improve business operating entities' sense of gain and boost faith in market prospects.
Focusing on the five major areas of technological innovation, green transformation, inclusive finance, elder care, and digital economy, financial institutions are injecting vigor into the local economy and promoting the city's high-quality development.
With plans to build a sci-tech financial reform experimental zone at the Zhongguancun National Innovation Demonstration Zone given the green light in May 2023, Beijing became the first city to host a national-level financial reform zone, according to the Beijing Business Environment Development Report (2019-24).
The Zhongguancun Sci-Tech Innovation Financial Service Center is pioneering financial products and services. It has launched customized solutions such as loans for mergers and acquisitions, services for tech professionals, and equity subscription, addressing the funding needs of tech companies.
Through a Zhongguancun key technology innovation support program for tech-based small and micro businesses, financial subsidies are provided to startups in areas such as next-generation information technology and healthcare, whose research and development expenditure exceeds 1 million yuan ($137,485). By the end of 2024, nearly 4,000 tech-based small and micro enterprises had been supported in their critical technology innovations.
Another example of technological finance is the "Zhongguancun sci-tech financial products supermarket" platform, which was established in July 2023. It integrates functions such as product information disclosure, bank-enterprise financing matchmaking, and monetary policy support, providing tech companies with convenient access to an array of financial products.
Currently, it features nearly 70 products from 30 banks and has aided more than 2,000 loans to tech companies, totaling 15 billion yuan.
The report shows that more than 90 percent of banks in Beijing have opened green channels for financial services for the city's key tech companies.
Local authorities have rolled out a series of policies to help the city become a global green finance center and sustainable finance hub, according to the report.
To this end, they have optimized green finance incentive mechanisms, including more than 120 financial institutions in Beijing — such as commercial banks, financial companies, financial leasing, auto finance, consumer finance, trust companies, and money brokerage companies.
Encouraged by the policies and mechanisms, more financial resources are flowing into green and low-carbon sectors, including green infrastructure upgrades, clean energy, energy conservation, environmental protection, and eco-friendly production.
Data from the report show that by the end of 2023, the balance of green loans in domestic and foreign currencies in the city reached 1.9 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.2 percent, outpacing the overall loan growth rate by 15.2 percentage points. In the bond market, nonfinancial enterprises in Beijing issued green bonds worth 120.63 billion yuan in 2023, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the national issuance.
When it comes to inclusive finance, small-sized and micro businesses, private enterprises and rural projects received priority financial support, according to the report.
The Beijing branch of the People's Bank of China created a business matching system in December 2019, building a bridge for financing between banks and enterprises. It covers 55 domestic and foreign-invested banks with more than 4,500 banking service outlets, and has more than 300,000 key enterprises as users in Beijing.
To date, the system has assisted nearly 500,000 bank visits to enterprises, identified 41,000 effective financing needs, and achieved more than 200 billion yuan in financing, with 97 percent of the loans going to small and micro businesses.
(Source: CHINA DAILY)
