The State Council decided to cancel or delegate to lower levels of authority 90 administrative approval items, it said in a notice issued on March 13.

The 90 items were approved by ministries and state administrations.

Also canceled were 10 awards and 67 certifications, all issued by government departments or national guilds, such as a certification of decorative material manager issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and a chemical operator certification issued by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

The State Council also decided that 21 approval items are no longer prerequisites for getting business licenses from the industrial and commercial authorities. Instead, people who want to start businesses that require one or more of the 21 approval items can get a business license first, and then go through these approvals.

The State Council asked its departments and local authorities to further the reform of the administrative approval system by continuing streamlining the administrative approval procedures. It also asked them to improve their ability to supervise, so that they won’t merely depend on making approvals to maintain market order.