The first point of view丨Catch a good style and improve efficiency - Zhejiang story of institutional efficiency construction Business environment | Xi Jinping | Institutional efficiency

Putting these two pieces of news together is quite intriguing——

On March 28, the World Bank's official website published the English version of "Digitalization of Government Services to Create a Better Business Environment in China: A Case Study of Zhejiang Province's Reform Experience", which uses the experience of digitalization of government services in Zhejiang Province as a typical case for optimizing the business environment in China. , promote to global economies.

A few days ago, Xiao Wang, a girl from Huzhou, was in trouble due to Macrobrachium disease at home. In desperation, she asked the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs for help at the Zhejiang Li Office. She received a reply in just two hours and solved the problem. She wrote a thank-you letter and posted it on the Internet, which quickly became a hot search topic and attracted a large number of comments and likes.

Can the government work more efficiently, can the economic and social development environment be better, and can people have a stronger sense of gain? Since the new century, improving the business environment through institutional efficiency construction has always been one of the topics of greatest concern to party committees and governments at all levels in Zhejiang Province.

In July 2003, Xi Jinping, then Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, made major decisions and arrangements for the implementation of the "Eight-Eight Strategy" at the fourth plenary session of the 11th Provincial Party Committee, emphasizing the need to further leverage Zhejiang's environmental advantages and effectively strengthen the construction of the rule of law and credit construction and institutional effectiveness.

2004 was the year of the implementation of the "Eight-Eighth Strategy", and the improvement of agency efficiency was one of the important starting points. At that time, the first meeting of the New Year focused on agency efficiency.

At this meeting, Comrade Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: To pay close attention to the implementation of various tasks, it is very important to effectively strengthen the efficiency of agencies, continuously improve the administrative capabilities and work efficiency of agencies at all levels, and continuously improve the quality of agency work and service levels. . And make arrangements one by one for the tasks, paths and goals of agency effectiveness construction.

Building a "pragmatic and honest" government for the people and continuing to create a market-oriented, legal and international first-class business environment - if the "efficiency revolution" 20 years ago was the starting point, the accumulated writing over the past 20 years has already Gradually taking shape.

The “first meeting of the New Year” after intensive research——

Since the establishment of Wenzhou Longgang as a city, it has used systematic institutional reforms and system reshaping to improve and strengthen government services and create a city with the best business environment. The picture shows the window of Longgang Government Service Center. Photo courtesy of Longgang Municipal Party Committee Propaganda and Traditional Warfare Department

As the main vehicle for solidly promoting party discipline learning and education in the local area, a special campaign of "Breaking Obstacles and Improving Services" is currently underway in Wenzhou to address issues such as poor implementation by cadres and substandard services in the construction of a business environment.

The intensity of the action has caused many local officials to "reminisce about the past".

That year was the beginning of the 21st century. After the reform and opening up, Wenzhou, which relied on the rapid development of its private economy, encountered new troubles.

In 2002, a report titled "Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Fleeed Wenzhou" put Wenzhou at the forefront. Many companies complained during interviews that Wenzhou's soft environment was not good enough, forcing them to leave.

When the report was published, a special research report organized by the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government was also released. The report shows that the "chronic diseases" of some government agencies have caused serious hidden dangers to economic development to a certain extent. Enterprises generally report that the most difficult thing is land use, the most troublesome is approval, the most troublesome is inspection, the most disgusting is the "three chaos", and the most fearful is retaliation.

The five "most" points directly to the style of cadres.

"It is no exaggeration to say that at that time, an ordinary office worker could decide the life or death of a company." Longgang businessman Tang Yuanting told us.

At that time, the annual output value of his printing company had exceeded 20 million yuan, which was a critical moment for expanding its scale. However, some land approval matters that can be completed quickly in other places have been waiting for half a year without any news in my hometown. There are also some agency personnel who "eat and get cards" under the guise of service.

After weighing the left and right, Tang Yuanting decided to leave his hometown and go to other places to start a new business. In those two years, dozens of companies moved away from Longgang alone.

In fact, at the beginning of the 21st century, the problem of cadre style did not only exist in Wenzhou, but also attracted the attention of Comrade Xi Jinping.

In December 2002, just after the second plenary session of the 11th Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Comrade Xi Jinping went to several major private economic cities—Ningbo, Taizhou, and Wenzhou for inspection. During this inspection, re-creating advantages, deepening reforms, and changing work styles were the keywords he repeatedly emphasized. In July 2003, the Provincial Party Committee proposed the "Eight-Eight Strategy", and "effectively strengthening the construction of the rule of law, credit construction and agency efficiency construction" became one of the contents.

Intensive research and decision-making have made many Zhejiang cadres realize that changes are about to happen.

On February 2, 2004, the Provincial Party Committee held the first meeting of the New Year. The name of the conference highlights the theme: Province-wide Conference on Strengthening Institutional Efficiency Construction.

This meeting pointed out the great significance of strengthening the efficiency of government agencies from an overall and strategic perspective: it is an inevitable requirement to improve the party's leadership and governance level, and it is a major measure to improve the socialist market economic system and accelerate the transformation of government functions. , is an effective guarantee for effectively changing the style of the agency and implementing the strategic decision of "eight advantages and eight measures".

The meeting focused on the big picture and was very solid and specific - drawing a road map and marking the destination: "With diligent and honest administration, improving efficiency, optimizing the environment, governing for the people, and promoting development as the main content, we will integrate agency management resources and optimize agencies Management elements, standardize agency management behavior, improve agency operation methods, effectively solve outstanding problems in agency efficiency, so that agencies at all levels and the majority of agency cadres can make new breakthroughs in fulfilling their duties and reform and innovation, and improve service quality and efficiency. There will be new improvements and new improvements in the people's satisfaction with the work of the agency, and we will strive to form an operating mechanism that is standardized in behavior, coordinated in operation, fair and transparent, honest and efficient."

The Provincial Public Security Department has comprehensively promoted the construction of "cannot get things done" reporting windows, and has deployed special "cannot get done" reporting windows in the halls of 110 city and county public security government service centers offline to cover all areas. Photo provided by the Provincial Government Working Committee

"In the future, it is found that agencies and their staff at all levels are delaying in handling matters that comply with relevant laws, regulations, rules, and decisions and orders of party committees and governments at all levels; taking advantage of their positions to pretend to be public or private, deliberately creating, conniving, and sheltering Unfair economic competition, causing adverse effects; taking advantage of management power to eat, take, get stuck, and asking for; having a rough work style and violating mass discipline, causing adverse effects; not conscientiously performing job responsibilities and shirk-passing; violating regulations in terms of fees, fines, apportionments, etc. If you have any situation, you can call the province’s agency effectiveness supervision and complaint hotline..."

On February 20, 2004, the first page of "Zhejiang Daily" published the news that "our province has established an agency effectiveness monitoring and complaint center", which caused quite a shock throughout the province. "Are you serious about it?"

Amid the doubts, the newly established Provincial Agency Effectiveness Supervision and Complaint Center promised to the society: if there are complaints, they must be justified, and if there are reasons, they must be resolved.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Provincial Party Committee, the work of the Provincial Agency Effectiveness Construction Leading Group has been efficiently advanced. In 2004, Zhejiang's 6,053 departments, 1,497 towns, and 2,353 units with administrative functions at the provincial, municipal, and county levels carried out comprehensive efforts to improve agency efficiency. A total of 19,949 related complaints were accepted across the province, 19,104 were settled, and 6,876 agency staff were dealt with due to agency efficiency issues.

"Back then, Secretary Xi said that without a good work style, improving agency efficiency is empty talk. It can be said that this is in line with the current party discipline learning and education." The relevant person in charge of the provincial government agency working committee said that for the majority of party members and cadres, work style To represent the image, we must have a good style of work and strict political discipline are the most important, fundamental and critical requirements, and are the basis for promoting all work. "We must always adhere to it unremittingly."

The same emotion came from Chen Jianping, then head of the registration hall of the Provincial Industrial and Commercial Bureau.

On December 30, 2003, Comrade Xi Jinping came here for an inspection.

The lobby is spotless, the window staff are energetic, and Chen Jianping feels "everything is under control." Unexpectedly, a chair attracted the attention of the provincial party committee secretary.

Affected by the design of the building itself, the service window has a low height difference between the inside and the outside. Sitting on the same chair, service staff have to stand up to communicate with the staff.

“Secretary Xi’s observations are so detailed!” Chen Jianping said that they quickly lowered the staff’s chairs by 20 centimeters to allow for “eye-level” dialogue inside and outside the window.

The provincial party committee secretary's attention to details sends a signal: government services should not be "above and above". But in fact, in the face of this practical exploration of "knife-edge inward", some party members, cadres and units are still not completely unified in their thinking.

Qiao Chuanxiu, then leader of the provincial government agency efficiency construction leading group, recalled that he could sum it up in four words: first, "difficult", which means that it is difficult to grasp the effectiveness of government agencies in general and it is difficult to be effective. However, if it is seriously grasped, many problems involve the system and it is difficult to get to the root cause; The second is "annoyance", which means that the construction of agency efficiency is carried out every year, and the same thing happens every year; the third is "fear", which is worried that the construction of agency efficiency will be carried out in earnest, affecting the interests of the department, and dampening the enthusiasm of cadres; the fourth is "floating", thinking that This work is a task assigned by superiors, and you have to do it as long as you can get by.

Comrade Xi Jinping is keenly aware of these problems. He made a clear requirement: System is the foundation of efficiency construction. Zhejiang will gradually improve systems such as the dereliction of duty accountability system.

Manage people and affairs with systems. In August 2004, under the promotion of Comrade Xi Jinping, the "Four Prohibitions" on the effectiveness of provincial government agencies were promulgated - it is strictly prohibited to leave one's post without authorization; it is strictly prohibited to chat on the Internet, speculate in stocks, and play computer games; it is strictly prohibited to eat and drink in Chinese restaurants; it is strictly prohibited to do business, Banquets, gifts, and gratuities from the parties will be accepted when applying for the certificate.

In 2005, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee issued ten regulations on further changing work styles. In 2007, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee designated this year as the "Year of Work Style Construction" and proposed to focus on six aspects of work style construction. One of them is to deepen the efficiency of government agencies, further improve the administrative approval methods, and deepen the government affairs disclosure system...

These strict and specific system requirements have made Zhejiang party members and cadres tighten their style of work and develop a pragmatic and efficient style. Over the past 20 years, the satisfaction rate of various groups surveyed with the work style of cadres at all levels has steadily increased year by year. Survey data shows that in the past five years, the satisfaction rate of respondents with the work style of cadres at all levels in Zhejiang has reached over 95%.

Digital application scenario of "I do practical things for the grassroots" of the Provincial Government Working Committee. Photo provided by the Provincial Government Working Committee

The "subtraction" of power and the "addition" of vitality——

In late spring in April, the night is already dark. Yiwu Fotang Town Juitai Trading Co., Ltd. is brightly lit. The factory building of more than 2,000 square meters is filled with clothing of all colors, and dozens of workers are packing the packaging trucks in an orderly manner. "The company is expected to exceed 200 million yuan in output value within three years." Turkish businessman Anas said in a no-nonsense tone.

The government's high efficiency is one of Annas's strengths. In August last year, he and his partners registered this company and became the 1 millionth registered market operating entity in Yiwu. Pointing to the business license hanging on the wall, he said happily: "It only took one day from submitting the application materials to receiving the business license!"

This kind of speed was something no one would have dared to imagine more than 20 years ago.

In 1999, although Zhejiang took the lead in carrying out the reform of the administrative examination and approval system nationwide, the examination and improvement system still needs to be strengthened. In particular, the problems of cumbersome examination and approval procedures and low efficiency have not been fundamentally changed. At that time, there was a popular "jingle" among the masses: You approve and I approve multiple batches. , running east and west repeatedly.

A cadre of the Yiwu Municipal Commerce Bureau recalled: In 2001, China joined the WTO, and more and more foreign businessmen came to Yiwu. However, as a county-level city, many foreign-related businesses could not be carried out in Yiwu. Once, when an overseas company wanted to set up an office, this cadre took businessmen to Hangzhou and visited four or five provincial departments. After asking around, it turned out that the whole process would take more than half a month at least, so the merchants gave up.

In October 2002, Yiwu established the 365 Convenience Service Center. The first batch of 28 departments were concentrated, involving a total of 160 approval, review, approval and service projects of various types, and centralized approval was implemented.

At the beginning of the establishment of the center, the biggest resistance came from the business department, "Why do we need to delegate power?"

Dong Liming, then deputy director of Yiwu 365 Convenience Service Center, felt that the job was not easy to do and the position was a bit "hot." Unexpectedly, after only two months of operation, the center welcomed the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee.

“Is the center convenient for people?” “How is it made convenient for people?”

On that day, Comrade Xi Jinping walked all the way from the first floor to the second floor, asking in detail about the center's internal organizational structure, what could be done, and the convenience effects. He pointed out, "The government's establishment of convenience service centers has reduced service procedures, allowing the people to run less errands and spend less money, which is good." When leaving, he encouraged everyone, "sum up experience well, the most important thing is persistence."

“How to further transform work functions, standardize work procedures, improve work efficiency, and promote faster and better economic and social development by strengthening the efficiency of government agencies is a major issue before us, and it is also a new advantage for Zhejiang’s system and mechanism. "The key is." In 2004, after the province's conference on strengthening agency efficiency was held, Dong Liming and his colleagues had a deeper understanding of strong efficiency and excellent services.

With the advancement of agency efficiency construction, centralized processing and centralized approval are rapidly spreading throughout Zhejiang Province.

December 26, 2004, the last Sunday of the year. After attending non-stop activities such as the groundbreaking ceremony of the Wenzhou-Fuzhou Railway, it was already around 1 p.m. With no time to rest for lunch, Comrade Xi Jinping went straight to the Wenzhou Administrative Approval Service Center and visited the staff at the service window one by one to learn about approval, certificate processing, and people's satisfaction.

"I hope you will follow the people-oriented concept and the requirements of building a service-oriented government, strengthen your awareness of efficiency, innovate the examination and approval methods, provide sincere services, be efficient and convenient for the people, satisfy the grassroots, and satisfy the masses." He encouraged everyone.

In 2007, all cities and counties in the province established administrative approval centers or administrative service centers, which greatly simplified the work process and standardized administrative behavior.

Zhuang Xiaoping runs a service company in Pinghu. She still remembers that in 2007, the company got the opportunity to cooperate with foreign businessmen and urgently needed to go through the equity merger and acquisition procedures of foreign companies. I thought the process would be complicated, but I didn’t expect that the Pinghu Administrative Service Center had already opened online offices at that time, and the procedure was completed in only two days. “For enterprises, time is efficiency. Through this small matter, we felt that the government agencies Things are becoming more efficient," she said.

This is not the feeling of Zhuang Xiaoping alone. In 2007, Pinghu City conducted a sample survey, and the results showed that the public satisfaction rate with the city's government efficiency construction remained above 90%, and more than 120 administrative licensing matters involving project promotion were expedited by an average of 4 days.

Our province's drug regulatory department uses "small sites" to achieve "big services", and 29 flexible service stations help Zhejiang's biopharmaceutical industry improve its capabilities and upgrades. Photo provided by the Provincial Government Working Committee

Since then, Zhejiang has continued to deepen administrative approval and reforms to streamline administration and delegate power—

In 2013, as the only pilot province in the country, Zhejiang launched the construction of "Four Lists and One Network"; in 2015, it vigorously promoted the government's own reform focusing on "Four Lists and One Network" and submitted it to the State Council as one of the positive models. , and announced and promoted it nationwide; in 2016, on this basis, it launched the "maximum one run" reform; in 2021, it will be the first to deploy major integrated reforms and digital reforms in the country...

In January 2023, in the face of new opportunities and new challenges, Zhejiang took the lead in planning and implementing the "No. 1 Development Project" to innovate and improve the digital economy, the "No. 1 Opening Project" to improve the capacity of the "Sweet Potato Economy", and the "No. 1 Opening Project" to optimize and improve the business environment. Reform Project". Among them, the "No. 1 Reform Project" focuses on creating the best government environment, the best legal environment, the best market environment, the best economic and ecological environment, and the best humanistic environment.

Just like a series of "spring cleaning", the approval matters that should not be "slimmed down" and cleaned up, and the powers that have legal basis are exposed to the "sunshine"; those approval authorities that were once "high above" are gradually decentralized, and the grassroots level is relieved Untie the shackles and let go of your hands and feet; things that can be done online can be handled at your "fingertips" as much as possible, so that business people no longer have to run errands...

"When the soft and hard environment is improved, more capital, talent, technology and other production factors can be attracted to participate in and support Zhejiang's development." On July 10, 2003, Comrade Xi Jinping stated at the Fourth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Provincial Party Committee Emphasize this when making a report.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly urged us to deepen reform and expand opening up and continue to improve the business environment at important meetings and during field trips.

Water droplets can eventually penetrate stone. Looking back at the development history of market operators in Zhejiang from a market perspective, we can find two completely different curves.

A high-spirited trend: In 2002, there were more than 2 million market operators in Zhejiang. By 2023, the total number of market operators in the province will exceed 10 million, and every 6.5 Zhejiang people will have one "boss".

Another one is gradually declining: various types of approval matters are gradually compressed and reduced, and the handling process is constantly adjusted and optimized. In 2003, Zhejiang began the third round of administrative approval system reform. At the provincial level, only 718 administrative licensing items and 243 non-administrative licensing items were retained. Zhejiang became one of the provinces with the fewest approval items in the country.

Traffic law enforcement units in our province go to equipment manufacturing companies to provide door-to-door on-site inspection services. Photo provided by the Provincial Government Working Committee

How is the food in front of you produced? Is there a "physical examination certificate"? Is there a "market pass"?

In Zhejiang, just scan the QR code of "Zhejiang Food Chain" and you can see it at a glance.

"Zhejiang Food Chain" is a "one thing" reform project in Zhejiang to promote the supervision of the entire food safety chain. With this system, consumers can even know where the fruits and vegetables in front of them grew from and whether the quality of the land is safe. Just take out your mobile phone and tap the screen to get things done - such "little luck" always warms people's hearts.

Regarding the "Zhejiang Food Chain", Wang Songlin, then Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Provincial Department of Land and Resources, told us that the results of this digital reform had actually been "layed out" as early as 20 years ago in the construction of agency efficiency.

From July 8 to 9, 2004, Comrade Xi Jinping visited various units such as the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Department of Land and Resources, visited government offices, held discussions with government officials, and conducted in-depth research on how to further promote government efficiency.

Hearing that the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee was coming, everyone in the Department of Land and Resources was worried and looking forward to it - during an unannounced inspection not long ago, the department's service window was notified of delays in work. After that, the department immediately implemented investigations and reforms, and introduced systems such as deadlines for settlement, which became a positive example. "Will Secretary Xi criticize or praise?"

After 20 years, I dug out the notebook from that day. There were only a few words of criticism and praise. There was one passage that Wang Songlin wrote down word for word: "Generally speaking, high efficiency will produce high benefits. However, if it is not Pursuing high efficiency realistically or blindly without following procedures will result in haste rather than speed, and may even lead to serious consequences. The efficiency we want is efficiency that conforms to laws and regulations, objective laws, and the fundamental interests of the people. s efficiency."

While improving efficiency, can we calm down and do some basic work and do something that is in the longer-term interests of the people?

Starting from the summer of 2004, professional teams appeared in fields across the province.

With seven mountains, two rivers and one farmland, Zhejiang’s land resources are very limited and precious. Extensive industrial development in the early days caused some land to be polluted by heavy metals and other pollution, making it unsuitable for growing agricultural products.

"The department has made great efforts for many years to carry out agricultural geological environment survey projects and establish 'archives' for the province's land." Pan Shengming, deputy director of the Provincial Department of Land and Resources at the time, said that the project not only basically understood the quality of the province's land "Jiaidi" discovered another batch of selenium-rich high-quality soil. At the beginning, Zhejiang was the first province in the country to complete this work. Now, the detailed "archives" provide the most original and authoritative basic information for the "Zhejiang Food Chain".

The "self-imposed pressure" imposed by the Provincial Department of Land and Resources 20 years ago is now a common challenge facing Zhejiang: after multiple rounds of reform and acceleration, the facilitation of government services in Zhejiang seems to be close to the "ceiling". How to further improve the quality of government services? ?

Shaoxing provides talents with a face-to-face introduction to the application methods and service scenarios for the "Talent Code". Photo provided by the Provincial Government Working Committee

In 2024, Zhejiang proposed to carry out value-added reform of government services as a driving force for the "No. 1 Reform Project" to optimize and improve the business environment. Its core concept is in line with the construction of agency efficiency: it is also to establish a user mindset and allow government departments to transform from the original "give what you have" to "give what you want."

When he pressed the send button, Liu Xin, the head of Zhejiang Zhongcai Pipeline Derivatives Co., Ltd., was unsure about the outcome.

His company has been developing well in recent years, with an increasing number of out-of-town employees and an increasing demand for shuttle buses. But in the Donggang area of ​​Quzhou Intelligent Manufacturing New City where the company is located, there are fewer buses for commuting.

In December 2023, in order to solve the problems of fragmented collection of enterprise-related issues, asymmetry of enterprise-related information, and non-closed-loop solution processes, Quzhou, as a pilot for the value-added reform of government services in the province, launched the "Enterprise Call I Respond" platform. Report the problem to the key, and the functional department will follow up the service. Liu Xin spent a few minutes writing about this problem.

"I didn't expect it to be solved in less than a month." Liu Xin took us to the bus station to have a look. There are 14 buses a day, with an interval of 50 minutes between each bus. "Now when I go to other places to recruit, I list this as an employee benefit. come out."

Today, this reform has been rolled out across the province. Integrate enterprise-related service resources and establish an enterprise-related service carrier that integrates online and offline; strengthen customized package supply and implement "one category of things" integrated service scenarios; build an efficient closed-loop resolution mechanism for enterprise-related issues and continue to improve enterprise gains Feeling... With the advancement of reform, new service carriers, service scenarios, and service mechanisms continue to emerge——

Zhejiang Digital Health’s “Anxian’er” provides patients with a number of smart services. Photo provided by the Provincial Government Working Committee

The Provincial Health Commission has created the country's first digital health care "Anclin" that is shared across provinces and integrates data and reality, and has innovatively built a new medical and health service system that covers both inside and outside the hospital and integrates online and offline;

The Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology has made every effort to reduce the reporting burden for enterprises. As of now, the provincial pilot departments have reduced a total of 33 reports, with a report reduction rate of 30.3%; a total of 6,003 indicators, with an indicator reduction rate of 53.2%;

The Provincial Department of Transportation has improved licensing efficiency. The average processing time for large-scale transportation in 2023 will be 1.11 working days, and the efficiency will increase by 8.29% year-on-year...

Breaking the "ceiling" with extended services is a new track and must be the optimal solution.

In September last year, with deep concern and deep emotions for the people of Zhejiang, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to Zhejiang for an inspection and put forward his sincere instructions and deep expectations - hoping that Zhejiang would continue to write a new chapter in deepening reforms and expanding opening up.

Deepening reform and improving institutional efficiency are important starting points and long-term issues. Today's Zhejiang is vigorously promoting the "No. 1 Reform Project" to optimize and improve the business environment, and is constantly exploring value-added reforms in government services. With the pace of comprehensively carrying out agency efficiency construction and "creating new environmental advantages", we will be solid, powerful and consistent.