China's Political Season: Shanghai legislator pushes for cutting red tape for businesses at annual congress

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In 2017, one company was set up every five seconds in China. It may be a record high, but it still takes nearly a month for companies to finish all registration procedures. After a year of field study and investigation, NPC Deputy Zhang Zhao'an has proposed a long list of solutions to cut red tape. But will his proposals see the light of day? Once again CGTN's Han Peng reports.

Legislator Zhang Zhao'an's first day at the National People's Congress came with some strong optimism. As deputies from different parts of the country arrived at the Great Hall of the People, a message from Premier Li Keqiang made Zhang's proposal stand a bigger chance of being adopted.

ZHANG ZHAO'AN NPC DEPUTY "The government work report has some tough words on cutting red tape. This makes my motion in line with the general principles of the government's agenda. But to really turn principles into concrete policies, it still takes discussion and debate with other deputies on many details."

On the second day of the NPC, nearly 3,000 deputies were divided into small panels, so that everyone will have a chance to speak.

ZHANG ZHAO'AN NPC DEPUTY "Now let's get started."

This year, Zhang hosted a discussion for Shanghai legislators in front of the city's Communist Party Secretary. During the NPC, all legislators, President Xi and grassroots workers alike, sit equally at the same table. But being the host didn't seem to give Zhang too much of an advantage in pushing his motion forward. The panel did not run short of deputies eager to push for theirs.

ZHANG ZHAO'AN NPC DEPUTY "My motion has five main points, but each of us only has limited time to speak in the meetings. You must be strategic in choosing what to say and be able to win as much support as possible in a short period of time."

Deputies from Shanghai were among the most outspoken at the NPC. Last year, around 50 deputies from the city raised a total of 28 motions, the highest among all the delegations. In 2016, 6 out of the 22 motions raised from Shanghai made their way into the country's legislative agenda.

ZHANG ZHAO'AN NPC DEPUTY "That's a very high success rate, which means we are all giving high-quality advice to the government. If I can't get my motions passed this year, I'll improve them and raise them again next year. Working as a legislator needs patience and persistence."

With only nine days left for deputies in Beijing, Zhang has been working round the clock. But despite his busy schedule, he still made time for interviews with us.

HAN PENG BEIJING "Spending time with the media is also part of his campaign. Deputy Zhang Zhao'an says it's useful to get his ideas widespread in order to win the support from the public. He says throughout the two weeks in Beijing, every minute counts in the fight for what he believes is right. Han Peng, CGTN, Beijing."