Shanghai had issued a total of 4,163 special credit reports for enterprises as of April 30, replacing some 74,000 proofs of no illegal record. The streamlined application process effectively saves manpower, material and time for enterprises.

Starting from March 1, Shanghai-based enterprises only need to log into a designated website and get a copy of an automatically generated credit report, which will state that the company has no law violations during the selected time period.

Enterprises will be able to issue special credit reports on their own to prove whether they have any violations in 41 categories within the administrative regions of Shanghai.

The first batch of 23 categories has been in effect from this March, and includes market supervision, ecological environment, urban management, and transportation, while the other 18 categories will be implemented from January 2024 onwards, according to Liu Yanhao, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Justice.

The report can be used in multiple scenarios. Enterprises with plans for listing, mergers and acquisitions, applying for bank loans, applying for preferential policies, among others, no longer need to submit repeated certification applications and visit multiple administrative bodies.

"From learning how to apply online and select the time range and field that requires certification, we received an automatically generated special credit report in less than half an hour, which was very efficient," said a director of the test department of an enterprise specializing in genetic medicine.

With simplified report application, enterprises can focus more on business development. Some representatives from securities and law firms believe that compared to certificates issued by grassroots law enforcement agencies, the special credit report records offer more comprehensive and detailed information on violations, which is more helpful in accessing enterprises.

The rule of law delivers a great business environment. Shanghai keeps optimizing the business environment through multiple preferential policies. Since 2019, Shanghai has been exploring the options of imposing no administrative penalties for minor violations, and regular upgrading and improvement of the list of violations, which allows more companies to operate and invest in Shanghai with peace of mind.

"In the process of business operations and development, companies are inevitably prone to inadvertent mistakes, such as minor violations and irregularities in product labeling and publicity, which can be immediately corrected after being discovered," said Xiao Aoshuang, head of external affairs of Dyson Greater China.

"We are pleased that the government has heard the voices of enterprises and helps them correct their mistakes in a timely manner through criticism, interviews, and admonitions, rather than punishing them directly," said Xiao.

The continuous optimization of the business environment, especially the legal and regulatory aspects, has injected confidence into foreign companies to take root in China.

The actual use of foreign investment in Shanghai in the first quarter of 2023 reached 7.8 billion U.S. dollars, up 28.1 percent year on year. A total of 907 regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 538 foreign-invested research and development centers are based in Shanghai, according to Zhang Guohua, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

Favorable government services underline Shanghai's resolve to create a first-class business environment. The Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference 2023, held in April, witnessed 26 major projects represented by biomedicine, artificial intelligence and digital economy signed on the spot, with a total investment of 67.4 billion yuan (about 9.7 billion U.S. dollars). More and more Chinese and overseas companies are expanding business in Shanghai.