Market-oriented biz climate prioritized

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has adopted a package of policy measures to create a more enabling business climate and expedite the building of a unified domestic market, amid efforts to address downward economic pressure and shore up market expectations.

The State Council Executive Meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on Friday highlighted the imperative to foster a world-class, market-oriented business environment governed by a sound legal framework.

The meeting emphasized the need to benchmark against international standards and work toward such goals as bettering market mechanisms, promoting fairness, enhancing services, facilitating convenience, reinforcing the legal framework, boosting confidence, fostering openness, improving quality and driving innovation.

According to a poll released on Tuesday by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, more than 90 percent of foreign businesses consider the Chinese market to be attractive, and over 80 percent expressed satisfaction with China's business environment in 2023.

The survey conducted by the country's top foreign trade and investment promotion agency also showed that nearly 70 percent of polled enterprises are upbeat on Chinese market prospects over the next five years.

Meanwhile, statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed that the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in China tallied 53,766 in 2023, soaring 39.7 percent year-on-year, thanks to the nation's continuously improved business environment.

In addition, the meeting emphasized that dedicated efforts will be made to resolve the pressing concerns facing market players, and build a unified domestic market at a faster pace. Meanwhile, consistency in macroeconomic policy orientation will be strengthened to create a stable, transparent and predictable policy environment.

Strengthening policy coordination was also emphasized in mid-December at a high-profile meeting during which top Chinese leaders laid out priorities for economic work in 2024.

The annual Central Economic Work Conference noted that measures should be taken to beef up coordination in fiscal, monetary, employment, industrial, regional, science and technology and environmental policies, and include noneconomic policies in the assessment of macroeconomic policy consistency to ensure that measures are synergistic.

Consistent and predictable macro policy orientation plays a crucial role in shaping market dynamics and providing a stable business environment, said Zhang Junwei, a macroeconomic researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council.

By ensuring policy coherence, the government will instill confidence in the market and offer microeconomic entities a clear and certain outlook for future development, enabling enterprises to make informed investment decisions and encouraging households to have confidence in their consumption patterns, Zhang said.