Dalian's Extraordinary Decade: A Top-Class Business Environment for High-Quality Development

"The first platform" in Dalian Real Estate Exchange Center

Just recently, Ms. Zhou was processing a commercial housing transaction at the Dalian Real Estate Exchange Center. It took only 12 minutes to get her property ownership certificate. "I thought I would be there for at least a couple of hours. But I got my property ownership certificate in about ten minutes. That's amazing," said Ms. Zhou.

Dalian Tax Service and the Bureau of Natural Resources have worked together to set up the first platform where different applications can be handled in a single service window in the most efficient way possible. The platform simplifies nearly 60 percent of the required materials by removing duplicates, greatly improving the entire procedure. Businesses related to commercial housing can be handled within 15 minutes, and the processing time for second-hand housing is no more than 20 minutes.

Greatly simplified real estate registration is a microcosm of Dalian's efforts to facilitate services for enterprises and residents.

The past decade has played a vital role in the development of the business environment in Dalian. The last three years have seen institutional reforms and standardization of the local business environment, particularly. A business environment bureau and integrated municipal working mechanism led by the Secretary of the CPC Dalian Municipal Committee and the Mayor of Dalian were set up; two-year and three-year action plans were released, and thousand-participant municipal conferences for optimizing the business environment were held. In addition to focusing on international development standards, Dalian has also looked to develop itself into a leading city and provincial leader among coastal urban centers. The city has streamlined administration, delegated power, strengthened regulation, improved services, and promoted its innovative models. What's more, the internet, telecommunications, and television and broadcasting networks were further integrated alongside the creation of a digital government model. It’s through these achievements that Dalian has managed to realize a high-level transformation to its business environment. Advanced innovations were made in different sectors of the city, and the development of the business environment contributed to the high-quality development of Dalian.

Dalian has promoted the development of dual-level government service halls and updated service windows based on the needs of residents. A service model has been established to classify and review applications after they've been accepted, issuing certificates through a single general service window. Another 12 services have likewise been promoted, including the first government service processing of applications or inquiries for applicants accepting applications with only primary supporting documentation. Moreover, 520 convenient government service stations, with unified looks and functions, have been established in townships, sub-districts, and communities throughout Dalian to serve residents nearby. A total of 37 convenient service hotlines in Dalian have been integrated into the "12345" Service Hotline to provide immediate help to residents. In the past ten years, more than 6 million inquiries have been handled through the 12345 Service Hotline.

Almost all business can be handled online through a single portal - a striking contrast to the only 50 percent that could be processed online ten years ago. At present, residents can have nearly 80 percent of their business processed online. Approximately 170 items can be handled at one time; 300 items can be handled in different regions of the city; 40 items can be handled in another five coastal cities, and 821 items can be processed via mobile apps. Government affairs can not only be handled quickly but also efficiently in Dalian. The single-portal means is applied by 68 organizations to handle relevant business, thus saving resources and improving administrative efficiency. Urban operation and management data and resources have been collected in a single portal. Six major scenarios have been set up and connected through ten application systems, making it possible to monitor the entire city with the internet and a few screens.

Over the past ten years, the time required to register a new enterprise has been shortened to half a day, and two hours at its shortest. The announcement time for simplified deregistration has been reduced from 45 days to 20. Instead of over 200 working days, it now takes no more than 40 working days to get a construction permit. The time for having access to water and gas has also been shortened from 30 working days to two and eight, respectively. Matters in the life cycle of market entities have all been significantly optimized, bringing convenience to every market entity.

And Dalian continues to streamline administration, delegating power, strengthening regulation, and improving services. Since 2013, it has streamlined administration and delegated power 21 times, covering 3,684 items. Dalian has likewise focused on reforming the administrative approval system. It has implemented a management system with lists indicating the materials required for residents. A total of 1,000 items requiring an administrative license and 3,543 government services in the 29 municipal departments have been included in the management system. Dalian has also been innovative in carrying out the targeted delegation of power based on the market entity's needs. It has delegated power to 15 industrial parks, which have benefited from 482 customized items and enjoyed facilitation in their reform and development.

By the end of August 2022, Dalian had a total of 876,995 market entities, which is 2.03 times that of the end of 2012. Dalian boasts approximately 45 enterprises per 1,000 people, ranking first in Northeast China. There are 6,656 foreign-funded enterprises in Dalian, placing the city at the top in Northeast China. The number of market entities in Dalian continues to increase and make the city more dynamic.

The overall business environment trend in Dalian over the past ten years has been quite positive. Government functions have been profoundly reformed, and digital transformation has been accelerated. Residents have participated in businesses actively, and the market has remained open and inclusive. The business environment becomes more convenient with the rise in satisfaction of market entities. In the 2019 and 2020 National Business Environment Evaluation, Dalian was selected as one of the 14 fastest-growing cities. Four urban indicators were evaluated as a benchmark domestically, and 55 reform measures were praised. Dalian was selected as a Benchmark City for China’s International Business Environment for two consecutive sessions of evaluations. The reform of the business system helped Dalian win the honorable title of "region with significant achievements by taking practical actions" after inspections of the State Council in 2021. The city was selected as the "National Quality Demonstration City" in 2017, and it was the only one in the province to gain this title. In 2022, Dalian was awarded "National Quality Demonstration City of Intellectual Property Rights" and from 2019 to 2021, it won the title of the "National Demonstration City of Food Safety".