China will step up efforts on all fronts to optimize its business environment through administration reform, said a circular issued by the State Council on Aug 12.

The circular, as a follow-up to a national teleconference on the issue addressed by Premier Li Keqiang on June 25, laid out key tasks for the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, State Administration for Market Regulation, and other related departments.

Among the tasks, market access will be further eased with a shorter negative list, and no restrictions are allowed beyond the list.

Led by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, revision of the new negative list for market access will be completed by the end of September.

In 2019, more administrative permits will be cut at the central and local levels, and the scope, conditions, and procedures of the remaining ones will be clarified and simplified.

For industrial products, the government will reduce more than 50 percent of production permits in 2019, and more than 30 types of products will be removed from compulsory certification by the end of October.

Meanwhile, complicated or trivial qualification certificates will be sorted out and merged, and the number of vocational qualifications will be reduced by more than half by the end of 2020.

At the department level, administrative approval items, including filing, registration, annual examination, and recognition will be checked and reduced.

The reform of separating permits from business licenses will be continued, with focus on cutting the number of certificates after granting the licenses. By the end of this year, pilot reform on the separation of business licenses and operating permits will cover all pilot free trade zones.

The time needed for starting a business will be further cut to within five working days or three working days in qualified regions by the end of this year. And the exit mechanism for market entities will be further improved by encouraging local governments to establish an integrated online platform by the end of August.

The circular also urged related departments to work out and publish a set of national unified, clear and easy-to-enforce supervision regulations and standards, while regulating and revising those with unclear boundaries, in a bid to ensure impartial regulation.

Government departments are required to improve service awareness and standards, greatly enhance the service efficiency and simplify the service procedures.

It also urges related departments to act fast to draw up a regulation on improving the business climate, providing legal support for creating a better business environment.