China mulls cutting red tape for enterprises with six law amendments

BEIJING - Draft amendments for six laws were submitted to China's top legislature for review on Monday to ease administrative approval for enterprises.

The six laws include those on energy conservation, water, flood prevention, occupational disease prevention and treatment, environmental impact assessment as well as navigation routes.

According to a statement explaining the rationale for the amendments, eight administrative approval items for the six laws are now prerequisites for companies seeking the green light for investment projects. The administrative approval items must be met prior to project approval procedures.

However, the draft posits that these items may as well proceed in parallel with the approval and verification for investment projects, which will help cut red tape for enterprises, said the statement.

For example, according to the current law on environmental impact assessment, a plan for conserving water and land that has been approved by the central government is a must for enterprises to receive an environmental impact report.

The draft amendment to the law said it will no longer be a prerequisite for the overall environmental impact assessment.