Hainan puts forward principle for working with market entities

The Hainan government held a meeting on Tuesday to fully carry out the spirit of the Sep 11 national teleconference on deepening the reform to "delegate power, streamline administration and improve service" and optimizing the business environment.

The meeting, which was attended by an extended group of participants, also aims to echo the spirit of speech delivered by Hainan Party Secretary Liu Cigui on Aug 31 on building a first-class business environment in Hainan Free Trade Port, maintaining the top level domestic business environment, making policy implementation precise and officials down-to-earth and responsible, and sparing no effort in creating Hainan a model of a pro-business environment to ensure that it will become a top level environment nationwide by 2025.

During the meeting, Hainan Governor Shen Xiaoming put forward the "six musts and six mustn'ts" principle for working with market entities.

Six 'musts'

1. We must show a caring, tolerant and encouraging attitude toward the development of market entities, take the initiative to serve them and do a good job in the publicity, interpretation and implementation of policies and measures to ensure that market entities are well-informed, familiar with and able to make good use of the policies.

2. We must treat all types of market entities on equal footing, and ensure that the same criteria is be applied equally to domestic and foreign-invested enterprises, to State-owned and private enterprises, and to micro-, small-, medium- and large-sized companies regarding funding arrangements, land supply, tax reduction and exemption, qualification and licensing, standard setting, project declaration, job title evaluation and human resource policies.

3. We must adopt scientific approaches in decision-making, extensively solicit and consider the opinions and suggestions raised by companies and entrepreneurs when formulating business-related policies, reserve a reasonable buffer period for policy adjustments that might increase business costs and affect the normal production and operation of enterprises, allow sufficient time for businesses to adapt to new policies and carry out compensation in accordance with laws and regulations if the legal rights and interests of the businesses are harmed due to policy change.

4. We must administer based on law, apply administrative licensing in strict accordance with laws and regulations, strengthen supervision with a "random inspector, random subject and open result" approach taken along with joint spot checks, minimize the impact on the normal production and operation of market entities, and try to avoid interference in business operation when there is no sufficient reason for further inspection.

5. We must keep the communication channels open, get a clear picture of the difficulties and problems encountered by market entities in their production and operation in a timely manner by applying multiple methods, through multiple channels and on multiple levels, listen to their feedback and requests, and facilitate addressing the issues in a law-abiding way.

6. We must take a bold attitude toward developing normal working relations with market entities, and be proactive to assist them in carrying out business matching and promotion activities under the premise of abiding by laws, regulations and principles.

Six 'mustn'ts'

1. We mustn't allow the abuse of authority in economic activities in the marketplace such as bidding, land-use right transference, construction, real estate development, loans and credit and procurement of goods.

2. We mustn't openly or stealthy force market entities to take part in any competition, compliance, commendation, training, assessment, testing or similar activities, or to use the said activities to charge market entities in an either transparent or opaque manner.

3. We mustn't use the adjustment of administrative regions, change of government, institutional or functional adjustments, or replacement of responsible persons as excuses for failure in policy commitments made to market entities or various contracts concluded with them based on law, or for default in payment of goods, projects, services delivered by them.

4. We mustn't openly or stealthy designate intermediary service agencies to market entities, or illegally force market entities to accept intermediary services.

5. We mustn't allow any illegal inspection, allocation, fee charging, fines, or fundraising to get in the way of normal production and operation of market entities and increase the burden on them.

6. We mustn't take advantage of the convenience of working and interacting with businesses to illegally impose fees on them, seek personal gains, obtain a profit or accept any property.