Rudong county in Nantong is going great guns in optimizing its business environment. [Photo/WeChat account: rudongfb]

The National Academy of Economic Strategy, at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, announced the list of the top 100 counties and county-level cities in China recognized for their excellent business environment, on Dec 7 in Beijing.

Nantong city – located in East China's Jiangsu province – had all of its county-level administrative regions included on the list, with Rudong county ranking 26th nationally and coming in third in Nantong.

As the main force for optimizing the business environment in the county, the Rudong administrative approval bureau is understood to have been striving to remove bottlenecks in project approvals and to broaden market access.

It provides one-stop services for starting a business, applications for projects and other business-related affairs.

Moreover, it is understood to have deepened reforms on "separating operating permits and business licenses", as well as introduced an "at most one visit" reform and other efficient measures. It has also sorted out, complied and released guidelines on 71 items which can be handled at an administrative window, during a visit.

The Rudong market supervision administration took the initiative to promote intelligent government services, such as non-contact approvals for the registration of special equipment use, to let enterprises process issues with fewer visits.

The bureau also created communications channels between enterprises and the banks, as well as encouraging firms to secure financing through intellectual property pledges. In 2021, it has helped enterprises in Rudong obtain 27 IP pledge loans, worth a total 226.8 million yuan ($35.6 million).