The "Policy to Promote the High-Quality Development of Individual Industrial and Commercial Businesses in Suzhou" was recently announced.
The policy consists of 28 measures in four areas.
There are nine measures aimed at operating the development environment. These include relaxing registration requirements for business premises, facilitating the access of individual businesses, and implementing policies to assist residents from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan in applying for individual businesses.
Six measures have been introduced to reduce operating costs. These include halving certain inspection and testing fees, providing subsidies for social insurance, supporting online business operations, and implementing preferential tax policies.
Six measures have been implemented to increase financial support. They include providing credit support, optimizing financial services, strengthening the role of insurance protection, and improving credit management services.
Seven measures have been put in place to enhance comprehensive services. They include strengthening the supply of quality standards, deepening intellectual property services, providing public legal services, and offering recruitment and employment services.
As of the end of April, Suzhou was home to over 2.9 million market entities, of which over 2 million were individual businesses, accounting for nearly 70 percent of all market entities in the city.