Autonomous cars are tested in Yangquan. The city is home to a number of technology companies for smart transportation. [Photo by Jin Xianghua for China Daily]

With faster-than-average increases in key economic performance indexes during the first four months of this year, the eastern Shanxi city of Yangquan has emerged as a shining star of the provincial economy.

Local statistics bureau said that in April, the total gross profit of Yangquan's industrial enterprises of designated scale – those with an annual sales revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($2.79 million) – increased 15.2 percent year-on-year and grew 17.7 percent from that in March.

Spending on consumer goods, which is among the major drivers for local growth, increased by 41.3 percent year-on-year in April.

Investors' confidence is also improving, which is demonstrated by the fact that fixed asset investment in the industrial sectors grew 8.8 percent year-on-year in the first four months.

Local businesspeople said that the growing confidence of investors and local enterprises alike is a result of not only their optimism about the city's economic resilience but also their endorsement of Yangquan's business environment.

DFD Yangxin New Materials, a company engaged in the development and production of raw materials for the electronic industry, was founded in the Yangquan High-Tech Zone in September 2021.

When recalling the first months of its establishment, Wang Yihao, the company's deputy general manager, said its smooth operation was the result of the local government's professional services that allowed the company to deal with all the administrative approval procedures at a speed "out of my imagination".

"We finished all the approval procedures in less than two weeks," Wang said. "We are told the period for administrative approval was more than a month in the past."

The practice of streamlining administrative service procedures is an important part of the government's efforts in creating a better business environment.

According to an official at the Yangquan city government, the government is changing its role from an administrative institution to a service provider.

"As a service provider, our principle for serving businesses is 'fewer restrictions, easier market access and more assistance'," he said.

The Yangquan High-Tech Zone is the pacesetter for the city's implementation of policies for improving its business environment.

It was a pioneer in Yangquan to offer one-stop services for businesses. At the zone's administrative center, not only procedures relating to administrative approval but also affairs relating to taxation, social insurance and supplies of water, electricity, gas and heat can be dealt with under the same roof.

In addition to bettering administrative approval, governments at all levels in Yangquan are always in place to offer assistance to enterprises.

One example is the urban district of Yangquan, which played an important role in helping local enterprises, especially private companies, recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.

The district's government exempted local businesses from 410 million yuan worth of taxes that year. It also issued 14.36 million yuan worth of coupons to stimulate the consumer market.

Thanks to the city's efforts in optimizing its business environment, Yangquan has seen increasing enthusiasm in entrepreneurship over the recent years.

In 2022, the number of business entities in Yangquan reached 129,000, growing 32.1 percent from 2021, according to local statistics.

Su Xiaochen contributed to this story.