Residents in a village in Lishui, Zhejiang province enjoy newly running water on Jan 2. [Photo/zjnews.zjol.com] 

Governments at all levels in Zhejiang province have been implementing measures designed to benefit both companies and individuals in recent years as they seek to create what the central government defines as a "well-off society" by 2020.

A national regulation came into effect on Jan 1 slashing tariffs on imported ox horn materials for making buttons from 20 percent to 6 percent. The Wenzhou government investigated many local button companies and proposed the tariff reduction at the nation's annual session in 2019.

"The new regulation will save us nearly 1 million yuan ($143,600) in costs, which can be spent increasing the number of workers and boosting production as a result," said a manager of a local ox horn button company in Wenzhou.

Homestays have been rapidly growing at Mogan Mountain International Tourism Resort in Deqing county, Huzhou, but are faced with problems such as unqualified inns. 

The administrative committee of the resort coordinated with many government departments to strengthen oversight on inn qualifications. The move has saved nearly 300,000 yuan in renovation costs for 15 local inns.

The environmental protection department of Lin'an district in Hangzhou hired 102 specialists in April 2019 to help local companies improve the environment. According to the department, among the 4,800 companies in the district, more than 400 were investigated for violation of environmental laws last year.

"A large proportion of companies hope that the government can offer them professional and targeted guidance to avoid such violations," said Lian Hongliang, deputy director of the department.

Over the past eight months, specialists have helped local companies solve 2,399 environmental problems.

At an economic development zone in Lanxi, a county-level city of Jinhua, a semi-conductor project started production at a plant rented from the zone's administrative committee.

"Our new plant is still under construction and will be put into use at year's end, but we cannot wait because we have received many orders from our clients," said the project manager, adding that the production cycle was shortened by a year thanks to the administrative committee.

In Lishui, the government of Suichang county raised 500,000 yuan to help repair water pipes in a village last year, providing local residents with access to safe fresh water.