Forty years after China began opening-up, the country's been devoting itself to improving its environment for companies. Officials today revealed new plans to cut the time needed to start a business in China. CGTN's Zhao Yunfei has more.

It takes 20 days on average to start up a new business in China. The government now promises to reduce the time to 8.5 workdays within a year. This was one of China's six goals to expand market access. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang first mentioned the policy in a press conference during the first session of the 13th National People's Congress.

LI KEQIANG CHINESE PREMIER "Going forward, these are the 6 things we plan to do. First, we'll cut the time it takes to open a business by another half."

Several leading cities have pioneered taking action on this issue. Beijing started online registration service for new companies in 2016. It simplified procedures to apply for licenses and combined 15 different licenses into just one. One start-up company that registered in 2016, Finchain Technology saw the benefit of these simplified formalities firsthand.

YAN YUANQUAN, VICE PRESIDENT BEIJING FINCHAIN TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. "It's time-consuming to apply for different licenses and documents at various government departments. When my company got its license at the end of 2016, things were much easier. I finished all the procedures online, and did not need to go there in person."

Now the policies will benefit the whole country. Vice Minister of State Administration for Market Regulation Ma Zhengqi, introduced the measures and aims at today's briefing.

MA ZHENGQI, VICE MINISTER STATE ADMINISTRATION FOR MARKET REGULATION "The aim for the time being is, the amount of time required to start a business in municipalities, cities with independent planning, sub-provincial cities and provincial capitals, in total 36 cities, will be reduced from an average of over 20 days to 8.5 working days by the end of the year. This will be followed by national implementation in the first half of next year.

A good business environment is necessary for success in invigorating market entities. According to the World Bank's estimate, China ranks 93rd on the degree of ease of doing business. That's 65 spots up since 2013. While it's a welcome change, there is still a long way to go. Zhao Yunfei, CGTN, Beijing.