China to streamline approval procedures for industrial products

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang ordered reforms to streamline the approval procedures on the market access for industrial products to support the development of new technology.

The government should focus on improving regulation after market entry and create a fair and just market environment, according to written instructions from the premier given at a recent meeting in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu province.

Despite consumption upgrades and a rising number of new industrial products, domestic manufacturers are still plagued by high institutional transaction costs resulting from rigid market entry control.

"Manufacturing is the significant foundation of the real economy," Li said, pointing out that an easier market access for industrial products should be a crucial part in government work to cut red tape and improve services.

China will continue to deepen the supply-side structural reform and transform government functions, Li said.

Meanwhile, regulators should strengthen supervision of products with high safety risks and ensure market order, Li said. "There should be nowhere to hide for counterfeit and shoddy products."

Li said a level playing field will help the upgrades of the country's manufacturing sector.

Echoing Li's remarks, State Councilor Wang Yong asked governments at all levels to step up simplifying administrative approval and improve supervision during the meeting.