Harbin’s section of the China Heilongjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone (Harbin FTZ) has dramatically improved its business environment and simplified administration and approval procedures, according to Ren Hailong, deputy director of the administration committee of Harbin FTZ.

Ren made the announcement at a press conference held during the China International Fair for Trade in Services on Sept 6.

Statistics show that since its establishment on Aug 28, 2019, a total of 3,028 enterprises have launched at or registered in the Harbin FTZ. Of these, 20 foreign-funded enterprises were established using foreign capital totaling $106 million.

Officials stated that as the core area of Heilongjiang FTZ, Harbin FTZ aims to become a hub for wide-ranging commerce between Russia and Northeast Asia. The site also strives to become a national logistics center connecting domestic and Eurasian regions and a growth springboard and demonstration zone for the full-scale revitalization of China’s Northeast region.

Over the past year, a series of measures have been introduced to improve the zone’s business environment competitiveness and attractiveness. Among these, 97 percent of the administrative licensing powers of the Harbin FTZ were transferred to its approval bureau for one-stop services.

Harbin FTZ is the first in China to pilot the “Commitment for Certificates” reform, stipulating that the four types of small public places do not need to apply for public health permits before opening.

Their commitment to guarantee public health will replace the previous permit application procedures, which usually took five steps and 15 working days.

Meanwhile, Harbin FTZ has shortened the approval time for all construction licenses for investment projects to nine working days – among the fast approval times in China.