My story: One-stop portal provides easier access to govt services

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Shu Jiajie, an entrepreneur from Shanghai, has been surprised to be granted a business license for his startup in just one week since he submitted an application online.

Having filed materials of the newly-established enterprise as requested on the city's government services portal, Shu completed the entire registration procedure to launch a new company without making a single visit to any government department.

With multiple government bodies involved to set up a business, including the tax and commerce bureau, it usually takes 20 or more days for companies to complete the registration process.

Shu Jiajie presents the business license. /CCTV screenshot

"It took only one week to receive the certificate," Shu told reporters from CCTV, adding that "the time [for business registration] is much shorter than before."

Shu is one of the millions in eastern China's metropolis to have their service applications accepted and processed by the government without having to undergo cumbersome approval procedures or buzzing around miscellaneous administrative service centers on-site thanks to the comprehensive network.

Before the portal was launched, residents would have had to visit different government departments for public services, as each department had its own independent database. /CCTV screenshot

Unveiled last October, the site, which offers residents access to more than 1,000 services from marriage reservation to traffic violation inquiries is part of nationwide efforts to slash red tape and improve government efficiency so that the public and businesses have easier access to public services.

Shanghai's one-stop government service platform. /Screenshot

Since 2013, the Chinese government has been facilitating the streamlining of government organizations and the transformation of its functions in an attempt to improve the overall administrative and business environment.

Between 2013 and 2018, China's State Council removed and handed over more than 40 percent of its administrative-approval items, with 800 repetitive unreasonable certificates removed from the approval process.

The ministries and commissions of the State Council have also been revised to 26 in a major cabinet reshuffle unveiled on March 13, 2018, in an attempt to make the government better-structured, more efficient, and service-oriented.

Edited by Cai Mengxiao and Zhang Ning