Li pledges to provide better service

State Council decides to optimize govt hotlines, improve processing of loans

The State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on several measures on Monday to improve procedures to benefit people and businesses.

China will optimize government service hotlines and improve the efficiency and capacity of government services for businesses and individuals, meeting participants decided.

It was also decided to make a change that will help companies offer collateral and obtain financing through implementing unified registration for pledges of movable property and rights to facilitate pledge financing for businesses.

Enterprises often pledge their movable property or intangible assets in order to obtain funds.

Attendees at the Monday meeting decided that to address the large numbers of government service hotlines and inconvenience in accessing services, service hotlines will be optimized in keeping with the requirements of deepening reform of government functions.

Subnational governments, especially at county and city levels, should fulfill their responsibilities for nonemergency hotlines related to enterprises and people, participants decided.

Service hotlines set up by those governments and those established by departments of the State Council and operated at the local levels will be merged, wherever possible, into one unified number for the convenience of the people.

A sound mechanism to efficiently deal with complaints, as well as monitoring and accountability mechanisms, will be established to see that problems and reasonable demands raised by businesses and people are properly handled in a timely manner.

"We have been working hard to transform government functions and make it easier for businesses and the people to get things done," Li said. "Regarding hotline operation and handling cases, multilevel targeted approaches will be adopted, and responsibilities specified, with high attention paid to localities at city and county levels. Guidance from competent departments will be stepped up."

It was decided that unified registration for pledge of movable property and rights will be implemented nationwide starting Jan 1.

"Unified registration for pledge of movable property and rights requires the financial system to strengthen and improve management services for the enterprises, and will play a positive role in easing the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises, and in facilitating pledge financing. The financial system must make great efforts to improve services," Li said.

The meeting also adopted draft revisions of the Regulation on Business Name Registration and Administration in order to refine basic norms and put in place an application system for corporate names in which applicants can choose a corporate name that meets the requirements and pledge to bear legal responsibility for any name infringements.