In an office in the Citizen Hall of Yinchuan, in the capital city of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Gui Zhi, an officer of the Yinchuan Administrative Approval Bureau (YAAB) watches a video on her computer.
It's footage of a new restaurant applying for business license in Yinchuan. The owner of the restaurant sent the video to Gui. And through an online communication app, Gui can tell the restaurant owner what improvements are needed, and what papers he should submit for the application.
Gui Zhi can check as many as 50 videos of different restaurants a day. /CGTN Photo
A process that previously took weeks now takes minutes because the officer no longer needs to inspect the restaurant in person.
“We can watch more than 50 of these videos each day,” Gui told CGTN. "That means work that used to be done in 50 days can now be done in just one day."
The YAAB is one of the 51 offices to have relocated to the Citizen Hall of Yinchuan, a center for handling government affairs that opened in 2014. Now local residents can have more than 1,000 different applications processed there.
A sealed box of used stamps has become an icon of the past complicated application procedures in Yinchuan. /CGTN Photo
Right beside the reception desk in the hall sits a glass box, which contains 69 red stamps. They've been sealed there ever since 2015, when the local government stopped using them and started using just one red stamp to deal with more than 150 applications for 26 departments.
Stampers say this is much faster for local residents and companies to get business licenses. And half of the application cases can also be handled online. The reforms have increased approval efficiency by 86 percent.
The administrative reform has also improved customer service in many government departments, according to Fang Guoquan, deputy director of the YAAB.
“A complete transformation of mind-set… now it's all about better service. We tell residents what to do in advance and help them get things done more quickly. Now there's no need to offer bribes or seek backdoor deals. Everything is easier and clearer.”
Application service has been much improved. /CGTN Photo
The improved government services in Yinchuan have encouraged the establishment of more companies, with a 48-percent increase since last year.