Baidu, Tencent, Xiaomi CEOs Propose New Legislature to Strengthen China’s Tech Sector

From left to right: Pony Ma, Lei Jun, Robin Li

It’s spring in Beijing, and China’s yearly celebrity parties legislative conferences (the “Two Meetings”) are being held in the capital. Among them is the National People’s Congress (NPC), which boasts among its members two new representatives: Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun and Tencent CEO Pony Ma. But the NPC doesn’t have a monopoly on the stars of China’s tech industry. The other meeting, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is also welcoming a new representative: Baidu CEO Robin Li.

So China’s tech giants are out in force in China’s legislature. Neither the NPC nor the CPPCC wields much real power, but that hasn’t stopped any of these guys from making proposals. So what have these fine gentlemen suggested so far? Let’s take a look!

Xiaomi’s Lei Jun: Cut away the red tape for startups

Lei Jun’s proposals this year are focused on making things easier for startups. In his NPC proposal, Lei lists five problems and proposes solutions for them.

• Problem: The government industry and commerce organizations often force new companies to register legal documents using specific forms and structures because its employees don’t have the time or expertise to assess the legality of more customized documents, even though those may be better for companies. Solution: Let companies and their lawyers take responsibility for the legality of their documents and don’t require industry and commerce organizations to assess them.
• Problem: In cases of premium capital increase at an LLC, the Industry and Commerce officials only investigate and certify the capital that is on the books when the company is registered, and not the premium increase in addition to what’s on the registry. Solution: The Ministry of Industry and Commerce should start investigating and certifying all of the capital.*
• Problem: Registering a company name can be a long and inconvenient process. Solution: Increase options for communication (such as phone and web communication) and implement web tools to streamline the name-registration process.
• Problem: Official industry and commerce organizations require a specific number to be filed along with a pledge of stock rights, even though some pledges of stock rights aren’t for specific sums of money but rather for fluctuating sums tied to stock prices, voting shares, etc. Solution: Don’t require the registration of a specific sum in some cases.
• Problem: Buying enterprise invoices can become expensive as there are only a few authorized printers and little wiggle-room for debate on price. Solution: Make them free, like other invoices.

Tencent’s Pony Ma: The government should embrace the internet, support tech companies financially

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pony Ma’s NPC proposals also focus on improving China’s startup environment. According to Sina Tech, he has so far made three proposals:

• The government should support startups by pushing big companies to create epayment, microfinance, and capital investment platforms that will improve the startup supply chain. The government should also establish its own organizations to support and invest in startups, as well as cracking down on IP violations and law-breaking.
• China needs to put more strategic emphasis on the internet by doing three things: establishing a single organization with clear-cut responsibilities for managing the internet, increasing subsidies for basic telecommunications services, and speed up the move to the web when it comes to government and social services.
• China should do more to assist tech companies as they move out internationally by actively participating in international trade agreements and safety standards as well as providing additional support and assistance to internet companies and even establishing an “internet commissioner” in overseas Chinese embassies.

Baidu’s Robin Li: Don’t require real names to use public wi-fi