World Bank: China becomes leading reformer in improving business environment

China has become a leading reformer among large economies in improving the business environment, according to a report issued by the World Bank.

The "Doing Business 2020" report, the latest in a series of annual reports by the World Bank, shows that China has been included among the top 10 fastest global reformers for two years in a row. The country has also seen a significant jump from the 78th position in the "Doing Business 2018 report" to the 31st place in this most recent report. The report analyzed 190 economies around the world.

"China has improved across almost all Doing Business indicators over the last decade, but the progress has been particularly impressive during Doing Business 2018-2020 when most Doing Business indicators improved," the report said.

The Doing Business project, on which the reports are based, measures how easy it is to do business for primarily domestic small and medium-size enterprises, making use of 10 quantitative and qualitative indicators, which measure the cost of doing business and the quality of the regulations and institutions that impact the business environment.

China has made reforms in most of the 10 Doing Business indicators, from starting a business to resolving insolvency.

For example, in terms of "paying taxes," China implemented a preferential corporate income tax rate for small enterprises, reduced the value added tax rate for certain industries, and enhanced the electronic filing and payment system.

As for "trading across borders," China launched advance cargo declaration, upgrading port infrastructure, optimized customs administration, and rolled out fee schedules.

The report also said "China has shown a notable improvement in the areas of dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, and resolving insolvency."

It also pointed to six key drivers of China's success, including high-level leadership and ownership of the reform agenda, local policy experimentation, national and international knowledge sharing, strong enforcement of the reform agenda and accountability for results, robust private-sector participation and intensive use of e-government services.

"However, despite the recent progress, further efforts are needed to put China's business environment at the global frontier, including in the regulatory areas covered by Doing Business and beyond," the report added.

With input from Xinhua