Interprovincial govt services promoted

The General Office of the State Council issued a set of guidelines on Sept 29 to promote interprovincial government services, urging local governments to offer enterprises and people easier access to such services.

The move is part of efforts to transform government functions, streamline administration and enhance governments' service delivery.

The document said China will facilitate interprovincial government services related to 140 items in high demand. The first batch of 58 items, including the registration of market entities, will be made available by the end of this year.

The circular said interprovincial services related to people's livelihoods were a priority, including those involving education, employment, social insurance, healthcare, housing and travel.

To support enterprises in their production and operations, the document stressed the need to simplify approval procedures for cross-regional investment and construction projects.

All regions will be encouraged to spearhead pilot trans-provincial service programs and to facilitate access to government services.

The document called for all procedures for administrative items on a national integrated platform for government services to be handled online.

For service items that must be legally provided on site, the document required the establishment of a unified window in government service halls for cross-provincial processing of materials.

It also stressed the need for interdepartmental coordination to minimize office visits by applicants, with documents shared via the national platform.

Local authorities are urged to make specific plans to implement the guidelines, it added.

Subsidies to encourage breeding programs

A guideline on promoting the high-quality development of the animal husbandry industry issued by the General Office of the State Council on Sept 27 outlined priorities to boost the sector's efficiency and competitiveness.

Efforts will be made to form a new high-quality development pattern in the sector that will see greater efficiency, safer products, efficient resource use, environmentally friendly production and effective regulation.

According to the guideline, the nation's self-sufficiency rate for hog products should stay at about 95 percent, with beef and mutton at about 85 percent and the rate for dairy products at about 70 percent.

It also said more than 70 percent of livestock and poultry breeding should be done on a large scale by 2025, and more than 75 percent by 2030.

The guideline called for efforts to facilitate the development of a modern farming system and strengthen the cultivation and promotion of exceptional breeds. To that end, subsidies will be provided to aid breeding programs in pastoral areas.

It also called for further improvements to the country's animal disease prevention system.

To build a modern processing and distribution system, the overall quality of the slaughtering and processing industry should be further improved, with large-scale, privately owned slaughtering enterprises established or revamped and small slaughtering stalls removed or merged.

A cold-chain processing and transportation system for livestock and poultry products should be improved in an efficient manner, the guideline said.

Cutting-edge technologies, including big data, artificial intelligence, cloud-computing and the Internet of Things, should play a bigger role in animal husbandry, it added.