AI tools are used at an administrative service center in Zhanjiang to help residents with their affairs. CHINA DAILY
Zhanjiang, a coastal city in Guangdong province, has achieved remarkable progress in enhancing its business environment in recent years.
In an enterprise survey that assessed business environment satisfaction, the city secured fourth spot in the province. Four key indicators — business establishment, and access to electricity, water and gas — all ranked first.
Also, the number of market entities in Zhanjiang rose from 325,000 in 2020 to more than 550,000 by the end of 2025, an increase of 69.5 percent.
This increase underscores the city's sustained institutional support, upgraded services and thorough reform.
Yu Gang, Party chief of Zhanjiang, emphasized that comprehensively deepening reform is a critical task. He urged local officials to follow the city's action plan for the "year of reform deepening and enhancement", fostering a systematic, complete, coordinated and efficient innovation environment, alongside a more dynamic and competitive market environment.
Pro-business and enterprise-supporting services have become standard practice in Zhanjiang. Local government leaders have taken the lead in establishing regular communication mechanisms with enterprises to address their needs.
In 2025, Zhanjiang inaugurated an enterprise service center, offering "one-stop, instant approval and processing" for enterprise registration. Moreover, guided by the needs of market entities, the city has introduced 23 measures across five areas, refined into a task ledger of 209 work items, to advance comprehensive business environment reforms.
To optimize the business environment, boost investment promotion and accelerate the development of the real economy, the Zhanjiang development and reform bureau has improved its work coordination mechanism this year, focusing on the effective implementation of reform measures in key areas such as land, finance, energy and logistics.
In land reform, for example, the bureau has delegated approval authority, streamlined procedures and directed land resources toward high-quality industries. It has also consolidated and reclaimed abandoned farmland. As of March 1, a total of 3,573 hectares of land had been restored, strengthening the foundation for agricultural development and securing land for urban-rural integration and industrial upgrading.
For fiscal and financial reforms, the bureau has addressed financing challenges for market entities by establishing a platform for government-bank-enterprise coordination.
It has implemented a regular mechanism for promoting financing of major projects, regularly releasing lists and information on high-quality projects eligible for financing, such as special bond projects and key provincial and city-level projects.
In terms of energy and logistics, the bureau has organized the Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone and Guangdong Xuwen Economic Development Zone to apply for the first batch of Guangdong zero-carbon industrial parks. It is also working to integrate more offshore wind power resources into official planning to lay the groundwork for a green power supply.
Meanwhile, the bureau is accelerating the construction of large-scale cold-chain infrastructure projects. This includes an international aquatic products park and the Leizhou comprehensive logistics park, enhancing infrastructure and reducing costs while increasing efficiency for enterprises.
Looking ahead, the bureau intends to maintain oversight and coordination of efforts, while enhancing the tracking and evaluation of their effectiveness. It aims to assist the seamless flow of various production factors, providing support for Zhanjiang's leapfrog and high-quality development.
