During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Fujian’s comprehensive strength continued its upsurge. The regional GDP leapt past the RMB 3 trillion and RMB 4 trillion marks, rising from 11th nationally in 2015 to 8th in 2019. Per capita GDP exceeded RMB 100,000, rising from 7th in 2015 to 5th in 2019.

Over the past five years, Fujian has fully leveraged the opportunities for development brought about by its multiple positions as a special economic zone, a pilot free trade zone, a comprehensive experimental zone, and the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The responsibilities and actions of the new Fujian in deepening reforms and serving the nation have come to the fore.

In late May 2020, the China (Fujian) International Trade “Single Window” system was rapidly upgraded to version 4.0. With “a single platform, interface, point of access, and declaration”, the system moves upward or backward the main processes of international trade, significantly increasing customs clearance efficiency and reducing business costs. The “Single Window” system has been linked to 43 government departments, achieving full coverage of the main processes of international trade, main inbound and outbound commodities, and the main means of entry and exit transport. The system currently serves over 60, 000 enterprises, and handles more than 1 million documents a day. The time that it takes to clear an inbound or outbound shipment is reduced from 4 hours to 5-10 minutes, and the time that it takes to handle the entry or exit of a ship has been slashed from 36 hours to 2.5 hours, saving enterprises more than RMB 30 billion a year.

Since its official opening in April 2015, Fujian Pilot Free Trade Zone has launched a total of 480 innovative services for free trade, of which 196 are unprecedented in the nation. For enterprise registration, the three certificates are combined into one, and each enterprise is required of only one license and organizational code. The review and approval procedure now consists of only five steps for construction projects and only four steps for investments. These innovative services have earned praise from all enterprises.

The Taiwan/Fujian-Europe freight train services cover more than 30 cities across Europe and Asia, and the cumulative total number of foreign direct investment enterprises and overseas branches has exceeded 2,800.

Starting from late June last year, for electricity consumption of 1250 KVA or less, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Xiamen only need to apply to the power supply company. If the application is approved, the power supply company will be responsible for the entire process of the construction of the external power line, from civil construction to electrical installation and to maintenance after construction. The expenses are subsidized with special funds from Xiamen City’s financial revenues.

Xiamen is the only city in the country that offers full subsidies from the local government’s financial revenues. This policy allows local enterprises to save about RMB 30 million a year.

In recent years, Fujian Province has implemented an action plan to further improve its business environment. It has continuously deepened the reform aimed at streamlining administrative procedures and optimizing services. The province has introduced a series of reform measures to simplify the procedures of setting up an enterprise, obtaining approvals for construction projects, securing power supply, registering real estate, and financing. As many as 97% of the services for matters requiring government review and approval are now available online, and 65% of the services do not require a single trip to the government office. New enterprise registration is now completed within three workdays, and real estate registration within five workdays. Review and approval of construction projects are completed within 90 workdays. The time it takes for an inbound or outbound shipment to clear customs is reduced by more than two-thirds compared with 2017 …. In the 2019 National Business Environment Assessment, Xiamen and Fuzhou were the top scorers among the 41 major cities across the nation.

For five years in a row, Fujian has ranked first in terms of the results of comprehensive reforms of public hospitals. In November 2019, the State Council Medical Reform Leading Group issued a special document to promote Fujian Province’s and Sanming City’s healthcare reform experience across the country.

As the country’s first experimental region of ecological civilization, Fujian regards solving outstanding eco-environmental problems as a priority in the reforms aimed at enhancing public welling. Stringent measures have been implemented in key areas to restore lucid waters and lush shores and bring back the sight of fish frocking in shallow riverbeds. Moreover, with its unwavering commitment to institutional reforms, Fujian has established a “three-in-one” GEP accounting system, and introduced a green target assessment and evaluation system. An audit system has also been put in place to assess the performance of outgoing government officials in terms of the conservation of natural resources. Twenty-two new institutional measures adopted by Fujian have been promoted across the country.

（Source: Fujian Daily）