Yao Yanmei sells agricultural products via livestreaming in Jingle County, north China's Shanxi Province, Jan. 17, 2021. Photo:Xinhua

After about one month of approval by China's State Council, the regulations on promoting the development of individual businesses came into effect on Tuesday, which stipulates Taiwan compatriots could continue to be registered to set up individual businesses in the mainland. 

The government has issued a series of policies to support Taiwan compatriots in applying for the establishment of individual businesses in the Chinese mainland over recent years, Yang Hongcan, director general of the Business Registration Bureau at the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), said at a press conference on Tuesday.

For instance, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and other departments jointly issued a notice in March to properly serve Taiwan compatriots' applications of setting up individual businesses in 27 pilot areas in the mainland for innovative businesses, and further expand the number of sectors in which Taiwan residents can set up individual businesses from 24 to 122 industrial lines, Yang said.

The measures aim to encourage and support Taiwan compatriots, especially grassroots people and young people, to find jobs and start businesses on the mainland, Yang said, adding that the new regulations also continue to support the establishment of individual businesses by Chinese citizens who are permanent residents in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

"Taiwan compatriots have been always welcomed to set up individual businesses in the Chinese mainland, which will help strengthen cross-Straits economic and cultural exchanges, and enable Taiwan compatriots to share the development opportunities of the mainland," he said.

As the main component of the socialist market economy, the number of individual businesses had reached 111 million as of the end of September, two-thirds of the total market entities and 2.75 times that of 2012, Pu Chun, deputy head of the SAMR said. 

Individual businesses account for nearly 90 percent of the services sector, largely in retail and catering and others. The rapid growth of new business models such as live-streaming over the recent year has further lowered the cost of starting businesses, and further promoted the development and expansion of individual businesses.

Individual businesses have played an important role in stabilizing employment, experts said.

The agricultural sector has seen rising level of mechanization which frees a good number of farmers, and the industrial sector's ability to absorb employment is decreasing due to intelligent production and management, Tian Yun, an economist, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Some 200 million Chinese are now flexibly employed across the country, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed. 

The number of such self-employed businesses is expected to increase, Tian said, noting that it is crucial for related governmental departments to work out new measures to ensure the healthy and fast development of the sector.

The SAMR officials vowed to better serve individual businesses, including those set up by Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots. 

Global Times