In order to implement the CPC Central Committee and the State Council’s decision to optimize the business environment, Shanghai has formulated the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Optimizing Doing Business Environment. The “Regulations” are formulated in light of the reality of this Municipality, and in strict accordance with the requirements of the Regulations on Optimizing Business Environment (Decree of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (No. 722)), expanding the scope of matters covered and setting higher standards. The “Regulations” have eight chapters and 80 articles, including General Provisions, Market Environment, Government Services, Public Services, Regulation and Law Enforcement, Safeguard by Rule of Law, Legal Liability, and Supplementary Provisions, providing a more comprehensive standard for optimizing business environment. The “Regulations” were approved by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on April 10, 2020, and came into force on the same day.

Creating a stable, fair, transparent and predictable development environment for the investment and business development of all kinds of market participants

(1) Service Philosophy

By taking the needs of market participants as the evaluation criteria, the Municipality shall practice the service philosophy of “being responsive to requests without making any unnecessary intervention,” and be a good “waiter” serving the enterprises.

(2) A World-leading Environment

The Municipality shall benchmark against the highest standard and level, and create an international first-class business environment boasting facilitation of trade and investment, high administrative efficiency, standard government services, and enhanced legal system.

(3) Tolerance to Innovation and Exploration

The Municipality shall encourage the exploration of specific and feasible new experience and methods for optimizing business environment, and commend and reward advanced entities and individuals. The entities and individuals who make mistakes or deviate in their exploratory work may be exempted from or relieved of their liabilities according to the law.

(4) Piloting Reform Measures

China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Lin-gang Special Area, Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone, Hongqiao Central Business District and other areas will play a leading role in optimizing business environment, actively exploring and piloting various reform measures.

(5) Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta.

This Municipality shall focus on improving the business environment in the demonstration areas featuring ecologically friendly development in the Yangtze River Delta, promote the establishment of unified market access and supervision rules, and strive to form a unified open market with the free flow of various factors of production.

Create a fair, orderly and dynamic market environment

(1) Equal Access

All kinds of market participants can, equally and according to the law, enter the fields not on the negative list for national market access

(2) Expand Opening-up

This Municipality shall promote trade facilitation, encourage and promote foreign investment; and carry out the experimental foreign investment policies and measures in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area to expand the opening-up of the country to the outside world in accordance with the national deployment.

(3) Rights Protection

This Municipality shall, according to the law, protect the decision-making power in operation, the property rights and other legitimate rights and interests of market participants, and protect the personal safety and property security of enterprise operators.

(4) Fair Competition

All kinds of market participants are entitled to the equal use of capital, technologies, human resources, land use rights and other natural resources and other production factors and public service resources. This Municipality shall prohibit market monopoly and abuse of administrative power to restrict competition in market economic activities and prevent unfair competition.

(5) Development of SMEs

The municipal and district people’s governments shall formulate special policies in fiscal support, fees reduction and exemption, financial support, public services, etc., and arrange special funds for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the financial budget at the same level of government.

(6) Separating Permits from the Business Licenses

Except for specific fields as prescribed in laws and administrative regulations, no enterprise-related business licensing items shall be used as preconditions for enterprise registration. This Municipality supports the exploration of “One Permit for One Industry” approval model.

(7) Catalog List Management of Enterprise-related Fees

For operating service fees priced by the government, catalog list management shall be implemented, and no fees or deposits not on the catalog list shall be implemented.

(8) Government Fulfillment of Policy Commitments

The people’s governments at all levels in this Municipality shall not breach or break contracts on the grounds of adjustment of administrative division, change of government, institutional or functional adjustments, replacement of relevant responsible persons, etc.

(9) Intellectual Property Protections

This Municipality shall implement a punitive compensation system against infringement of intellectual property rights, explore the public interest litigation in intellectual property rights, and provide the infringement early warning, legal services and judicial relief for intellectual property protections.

Construct an efficient and convenient system of government services

(1) Government Online-offline

All government services in this Municipality are available on the Government Online-offline platform. This Municipality shall provide online and offline government services with the same standard, promote a main portal, one-time login, and integrate online services for market participants to handle affairs.

(2) Comprehensive Window Service

The government service halls shall promote a comprehensive window service, and implement comprehensive acceptance, categorized dealing, and unified delivery. The service windows shall improve service systems such as one-time notification, first-inquired person in charge, and time-limited processing. The window service staff shall not refuse to accept the application materials submitted by applicants.

(3) List of Administrative Permits

Except as specified within the list of administrative permits, any establishment or the disguised establishment or implementation of government permits in the manner of files, record, registration, catalog, planning, annual inspection, annual report, production supervision, recognition, certification, review, and any other forms shall be prohibited.

(4) List of Proof Items

A list of proof items shall be published, and the requirement basis, requesting entity, issuing entity, etc. shall be listed item by item. Repeated requests for proof from the market participants are prohibited.

(5) List of Intermediary Services for Administrative Approval

The list of intermediary services for administrative approval shall be compiled and announced to the public. The conditions, procedures, time limits, and charging standards for intermediary services for statutory administrative approval shall be clarified and published to the public.

(6) Administrative Approval via Notification and Commitment.

For administrative approval items that are difficult to verify approval requirements in advance but incompleteness can be corrected, with controllable risks, through the on-processing and post-event supervision, the administrative approval authorities may adopt a Notification and Commitment method, and directly approve the eligible items.

(7) “One Window” Online Service Platform

The applicant can apply for business licenses, seals, invoices, basic social insurance, and other services through the “One Window” online service platform. The application shall be handled within one working day.

(8) Form Review

When applying for the establishment of an enterprise and change of registration, the registration authority may conduct merely a form review of the submitted materials if the applying enterprise promises that the submitted materials are true, lawful and effective.

(9) Electronic Licenses, Electronic Signatures and Electronic Seals

The use of electronic certificates shall be promoted. The applicant may present the electronic licenses required for business processing through the municipal electronic license database, and the accepting unit shall not require the applicant to provide physical licenses. The electronic signatures shall have the same legal effect as handwritten signatures or seals; electronic seals and physical seals shall have the same legal effect; and electronic and physical certificates shall have the same legal effect.

(10) Obtainment of Construction Permits

“One Form Application, One Acceptance, Government Online-offline, Completion within a Limited Period and Certificate Issuance at One-time” for various approval stages of project approval, land use, planning, construction, and completion acceptance shall be realized. For low-risk construction projects with social investment, construction project planning permits and construction permits can be handled in a combined manner, and the entire period shall not exceed ten working days.

(11) International Trade Single Window

This Municipality shall provide the integrated electronic services such as import and export goods declaration, transportation methods declaration, tax payment, trade permit and Certificate of Origin application through the International Trade Single Window. The charging standards at the International Trade Single Window shall be published, and the “One-Stop” inquiry and settlement of port-related market charges shall be accomplished.

(12) Enterprise Relocation

The reasonable cross-district relocation of enterprises shall be supported. Disputed matters shall be coordinated and resolved by this Municipality’s Joint Meeting Mechanism Serving Enterprises.

(13) Enterprise Deregistration

An enterprise can apply for deregistration through this Municipality’s “Integrated Registration Service system,” various departments shall conduct categorized dealing and simultaneous processing, and conclude the relevant matters once and for all. Expedited deregistration procedures may apply to eligible enterprises.

Improving the inclusive and comprehensive corporate public service system

(1) Miscellaneous Services Provided by Shanghai Enterprise Service Cloud

The unified release of enterprise-related policies, the collective entry of professional service agencies, and the centralized acceptance of enterprises’ requests on Shanghai Enterprise Service Cloud shall be realized. Rapid processing and feedback of requests shall be provided. General issues shall be settled within five working days and complicated issues within fifteen working days.

(2) A Grid-based Enterprise Service Model

Each district shall designate specific persons-in-charge in villages, towns, subdistricts, industrial parks, and business buildings to respond to enterprises’ requests.

(3) Unified Application for Enterprise-benefiting Policies

One-stop service of online search, subscription, matching, and application shall be provided for enterprises. All districts shall establish service windows for fiscal funds-based enterprise-benefiting policies.

(4) Whole-process Agent Services

This Municipality encourages public utility units of electricity, water supply and drainage, fuel gas, network, and others to provide whole-process agent services to market participants. Public utility enterprises shall clearly mark the prices of chargeable items.

(5) A Unified Movable Collateral Registration System

This Municipality shall implement a unified movable collateral registration system to facilitate financing of market participants.

(6) Financing of SMEs

This Municipality shall provide credit enhancement services for the financing of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises through a policy-based financing guarantee fund. This Municipality shall promote the opening of public data and the app of Big Data Inclusive Finance, and share with financial institutions the government data related to, among others, market regulation, taxation, real estate registration, environmental protection, and public utility data such as electricity, water supply and drainage, fuel gas, network and so on.

(7) Park Services

The relevant government departments shall encourage various industrial parks to set up a one-stop enterprise service acceptance office, and support those parks to provide services, such as certification and guarantee, to the park enterprises by means of recommendation letters.

(8) Major Industrial Projects

This Municipality shall implement the catalogue-based administration of major industrial projects. The municipal and district people’s governments shall establish a major project contact system and a coordinated handling mechanism to provide whole-process service guarantee for enterprises.

Innovating a regulatory system that is tolerant, prudential, fair and just

(1) List of Exemptions for Business Practices with Trivial Violations of Laws and Regulations

This Municipality shall establish and improve a system of tolerant and prudential regulation of a market participant’s business practice with trivial violations of laws and regulations, clarify the specific circumstances of business practices with trivial violations of laws and regulations, and impose no administrative punishment on these violations in accordance with the law.

(2) List of Regulatory Items Catalogue,

The regulators, supervisees, regulatory measures, handling methods shall be specified and disclosed to the public.

(3) Differentiated and Categorized Regulation and Management

This Municipality shall implement differentiated and categorized regulation and management upon market participants based on the supervisees’ credit status and risk level.

(4) Credit Supervision and Management

Relevant administrative departments shall make full use of credit information, grant convenient services such as processing with priority and simplified procedures to the trustworthy participants. The credit repair mechanism shall be established and improved.

(5) “Regulation of Random Selection of Inspection Objects and Inspectors and Timely Public Disclosure”

The frequency and probability of random inspection shall be linked to the credit rating and risk level of the inspection objects. Multiple items subject to inspection concerning the same inspection object shall be integrated or be included in the scope of joint random inspection.

(6) Administrative Coercion

If the purpose of administrative management can be achieved by non- coercion means, administrative coercion shall not be carried out; if an illegal act is trivial or of insignificant social harm, administrative coercion may not be required; if administrative coercion is compellingly required, such coercion shall be executed within the necessary limits, with the impact on the normal production and operation activities of the market participants being reduced to the least. The relevant departments may work to create a list of items not necessarily subject to administrative compulsory measures.

(7) Standardizing Suspension of Production and Operation

The enterprises shall be notified in writing beforehand or a public announcement shall be made for the adoption of measures such as general suspension of production and operation.

Improving a complete and sound legal system

(1) Formulation of Enterprise-related Policies

When formulating local laws, rules and regulations, and administrative normative documents that are closely related to the production and operation activities of market participants, this Municipality shall listen to the opinions of market participants, industry associations and chambers of commerce extensively. Publicity and interpretation shall be carried out simultaneously after the publication.

(2) Legitimacy Review

When formulating normative documents, policies and measures that are closely related to the production and business activities of market participants, a legitimacy review shall be conducted.

(3) Fair Competition Review

When drafting or formulating local laws, rules and regulations, normative documents and other policies and measures that involve the economic activities of market participants, a fair competition review shall be conducted.

(4) Diverse Dispute Resolution Mechanism

The Municipality supports arbitration and mediation institutions to join the “one-stop” international commercial dispute resolution platform, and to jointly create a fair, just, transparent and convenient law-based international Business environment.

(5) Commitment System of Address for Service of Legal Documents

Enterprises may undertake to be responsible for the authenticity of the address filed and the timely and effective acceptance of the legal documents served by the people’s courts and administrative departments of this Municipality at all levels, so as to improve the service efficiency of legal documents.

(6) Electronic Case Filing in the Court System

The party that submits the complaint materials by filing the case online does not need to submit the hard copies. The person concerned who has refused to perform the duties determined by the effective judgment shall be included into the list of dishonesty disciplinary punishment.

(7) Bankruptcy and Reorganization

The Municipality shall promote and improve a market-oriented and rule-of-law bankruptcy system, support the people’s courts in exploring the establishment of bankruptcy rescue mechanisms such as reorganization recognition and pre-reorganization, and explore a mechanism for separation of complicated and simple bankruptcy cases and quick trial of summary bankruptcy cases to streamline bankruptcy procedures.

(8) Complaints and Rights Protection

Any unit or individual may make complaints and report on issues relating to business environment through the “12345” citizen service hotline, Shanghai Enterprise Service Cloud, small and medium-sized enterprises service center, and “Government Online-offline” platform.

Jointly released by the Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission and the “China Shanghai” portal.

(The English version is for your reference only. In case any discrepancy between the English and Chinese context, the Chinese version shall prevail.)