China is fast becoming one of the easiest places in the world to do business, according to the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report.

Released Thursday, the report ranked China 31st out of 190 countries and regions, up 15 spots from its previous ranking of 46th and among the top 10 improvers alongside Saudi Arabia, India, Nigeria, and others. The Doing Business project also ranked Hong Kong and Taiwan third and 15th, respectively, on the overall list.

The day before the report’s release, China’s Cabinet issued a regulation aimed at ensuring a “stable, fair, transparent, and predictable business environment.” Effective from next year, the regulation says it will guarantee equal market access, fair competition, and equal protections of businesses’ managerial autonomy and property rights. It also vows to streamline administrative procedures and cut taxes, fees, and red tape.

However, analysts and businesspeople have raised concerns over whether the regulation can actually succeed in treating state-owned, private, and foreign companies equally, given the interconnectedness of politics and business in China and the country’s sometimes opaque judicial system. In July, the Ministry of Commerce announced it would add foreign companies that “severely damaged the legitimate interests” of Chinese firms to a list of “unreliable entities,” following a similar move from the United States. (Image: VCG)