A staff member at a government service center in Zhejiang province handles a matter with the help of a robot. [Photo/IC]

The "At Most One Visit" administrative reform initiated by East China's Zhejiang province in 2016 was mentioned in the Government Work Report at the opening plenary of the second session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing March 5.

The report stated that the government should further promote online administrative services and strive to cut down on excessive red tape to ensure that if anyone who has to visit a government department can achieve what they want in one visit.

These words aroused heated discussions among Zhejiang NPC deputies and members of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Chen Naike, vice-chairman of Zhejiang Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and an NPC deputy, said the government's proactive measures are strengthening entrepreneurs' confidence. He explained that an increasing number of overseas Chinese people choose to come back due to the strong support offered by government departments.

Xu Wenguang, Party secretary of Quzhou city, suggested that supply-side reform should be deepened to improve administrative services.

"Quzhou is striving to create a favorable business climate for investors," said Xu, who explained that 553 government services can now be accessed via mobile apps in the city.

Zhang Zexi, a CPPCC member from Zhejiang, proposed stronger systematic research into policies, laws and regulations about administrative reform. Based on his investigations, he thought at last most obstacles will be removed from these sectors.

Huang Lianxi, a partner of Zhejiang T&C Law Firm, expressed her opinion on the administrative reform from the legal angle, saying reforms could be combined with Zhejiang's law-based governance thus improving the business climate under the rule of law.