China makes fresh efforts to unleash economic vitality

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for more efforts to streamline administration procedures and scale back government controls to unleash economic vitality.

The government will cancel more approval items, make enterprise registration easier and waive administrative charges it deems unreasonable this year, Li said at a national teleconference of China's senior and middle-level officials.

The transformation of governmental functions should address people's concerns, improve government services and strengthen supervision to guarantee a transparent, orderly and just market environment, the premier said.

The meeting underlined the leadership's resolution to tackle the long-standing issue of red tape, in the hope of promoting a more streamlined and efficient economy.

Li stressed encouragement of start-ups and innovation as well as enhancing services in employment, financing and intellectual property, so as to attract valid investment and realize easy and fair services for all people.

He also urged stronger monitoring of big data, cloud computing and "Internet Plus" put forward by Li which means the integration of the Internet and traditional industries through online platforms and IT technology.

There has been some progress in simplifying government procedures and streamlining government functions in the past few years, but the premier said there was still a big gap between actual results and people's expectations.

Last Wednesday, during a State Council meeting, the premier expressed his displeasure at excessive regulation and red tape, ridiculing scenarios in which citizens were asked to prove "your mother is your mother" when obtaining a government permit.

Fighting red tape has become more pressing as China's growth slows, and reform measures rolled out to steer the economy away from its unsustainable model, powered by state-directed investment, to more vital growth engines such as private consumption and services.

Since 2013, the premier has championed the streamlining of administrative approval and the slashing of red tape to help the market function efficiently.