(Yicai) May 7 -- Shanghai will accelerate efforts to implement a plan to improve the city’s business environment, aiming to ease the burden on companies and clarify services and regulations.

The 10 Key Tasks for Optimizing the Business Environment, were based on the ninth version of the plan launched earlier this year. At a press conference today, Liu Jian, deputy secretary-general of the city government and director of the Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission, said efforts will be made to ensure the early implementation and effectiveness of the measures.

The new "circuit breaker" mechanism is already in effect, lessening disruptions for businesses caused by administrative inspections. The system will automatically block any requests for inspection codes if the interval between checks is less than a month, exceeds the annual frequency limit, or if on-site inspections are arranged for matters categorized as "no disturbance without cause." 

In special circumstances where the circuit breaker is not applied, a strict approval process must be followed. Last year, the volume of administrative inspections related to businesses in Shanghai fell by more than 40 percent compared with the previous year.

The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration said that the 2026 inspection checklist covers 85 categories and 688 scenarios, with 64 percent categorized as “no disturbance without cause.”

In terms of policies to benefit businesses, a total of 826 projects at both the municipal and district levels have been designated as "automatic enjoyment without application." This year, there will be a focus on promoting collaboration between the two levels as well as across industrial chains, aiming for smoother policy introductions.

The plan also includes measures aimed at curbing problems related to the use of artificial intelligence. Shanghai’s Cyberspace Affairs Commission said the aim is to address the generation and dissemination of AI-related false information concerning enterprises that could mislead the public or discredit competitors. 

Platforms are being encouraged to improve their technical identification and manual review mechanisms, and a total of 1,665 items of false information and 89 related accounts have already been dealt with. This year, the public security authorities have investigated nearly 100 cases related to false information concerning enterprises.

Improvement of the business environment in industrial parks has been included for the first time in the 10 key tasks, and new guidelines aim to create a one-stop service hub for companies operating in the city’s industrial parks. Additionally, for emerging fields such as short dramas, Shanghai aims to optimize the regulatory approval process and enhance efficiency.

In the first quarter of this year, Shanghai's gross domestic product grew by 5.9 percent year on year, which is 0.9 percentage point higher than the national average, and also marks the fastest first-quarter growth in the past five years.

Editor: Tom Litting