The Chinese government will further streamline registration procedures for private businesses, to encourage entrepreneurship and improve business environment.

The new measures, including merging five business certificates into one license, which were put in place on October 1 after being initially approved in May, have significantly encouraged private businesses. The State Council’s executive meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on October 14, listened to a report on its implementation.

Recent figures from the General Administration for Industry and Commerce show the new streamlining efforts have had a significant impact within two weeks of implementation. The time required for registering a new business is now only two to three working days, while it previously took several months and required stacks of printed documents that had to be submitted to half a dozen departments.

The Premier remarked on the success of the new measures. He also pointed out that greater efforts were required in streamlining business registration, as too many certificates are still required for business operating.

“We should cut those certificates that are not really required for starting a business, and therefore fully release the benefits of reform and the market,” Premier Li said.

The Premier has continuously stressed that efforts are being taken to streamline business registration and scale back government control to meet the requirements for another round of opening up and improve China’s global competitiveness.

A number of measures have been put in place since 2015 to integrate the business license, the organization code certificate and the certificate of taxation registration, into a single document. Another two certificates, namely the social insurance registration certificate and the statistics registration certificate, joined the ranks this month.

“Chinese people do not lack the passion and wisdom for innovation and entrepreneurship,” Premier Li said. “The key is to properly unleash their potential.”

Further measures will be introduced to better streamline business registration.

First, piloting measures in merging those certificates into the current scheme are encouraged to be taken in certain cities and regions, and will be promoted across China after proper evaluation.

Second, the government will explore the better use of Internet Plus, aiming to put the entire business registration process online. Currently, 22 provinces and cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have launched such trials.

The meeting also called for greater efforts in on-time and in-time regulation with better information sharing and recognition among government departments.

A total of 488,000 new business licenses have been issued since October 1, and online survey shows that more than half of those surveyed gave positive comments on the business registration reform.

Figures also show that the number of new business registrations grew from about 12,000 per day in 2015 to 14,600 in the first eight months of this year, while the number was only 6,900 before the reform.

While China faces mounting downward economic pressure, the employment rate has sweetened.

Premier Li said more than 10 million urban jobs had been created since January.

“This is a remarkable achievement, and the way to ensure employment is to boost market potential and vigor,” Premier Li said.

The Premier also stressed the need for proper supervision in the context of the reform, while he also warned against disturbing examination to private enterprises.