China unveils regulation on market entity registration, administration

BEIJING-- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has signed a State Council decree unveiling a regulation on the registration and administration of market entities.

The new regulation, which will take effect on March 1 next year, has set out unified provisions on the registration and administration of enterprises of all types, self-employed individuals, and specialized farmers' cooperatives that engage in for-profit business activities in China.

The regulation will likely streamline market entities' registration processes, lower institutional costs, and reduce their burden to provide legal safeguards for cultivating and strengthening market entities and promoting fair competition.

Registration authorities should optimize the process, raise their work efficiency, and provide online registration services, the regulation stated.

Market entity registration applicants should be accountable for the authenticity, legality, and validity of their submitted materials.

The authorities shall not require applicants to repeatedly provide relevant information that can be accessed via the government information-sharing platform, the regulation noted.

It has also called for strengthened oversight and management of the market entities. Those submitting false materials or concealing significant facts by fraudulent means will see their market entity statuses deregistered.