BEIJING — China will continue to streamline administrative approvals and cut red tape to improve business environment, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting on Jan 17.

Premier Li Keqiang, who chaired the meeting, called for more efforts to remove barriers to market access and lower transaction costs.

Services should be improved while the supervision should be strengthened, said the statement.

A pilot reform will be carried out in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area to cut or simplify another 47 approval items, after all of China’s free trade zones have separated operation permits from business licenses and cleared 116 approval items, said the statement.

The 47 approval items will cover 10 fields, including medical care, investment, construction, transportation and quality supervision.

For instance, all requirements on production approval that do not concern industrial policies or product quality and safety will be canceled, while restrictions on private medical institutions will be eased, according to the statement.

The pilot reform program in Pudong will run for a year before expanding to the entire city of Shanghai and other regions.

All local governments should explore ways to create a healthy business environment for fair competition to encourage market players to provide products and services of high quality, the statement said.

China was ranked the 78th in ease of doing business, according to a 2017 report by the World Bank, up from the 96th place in 2013.