An employee of the French industrial conglomerate Saint-Gobain works at the localized biopharma single-use product plant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in November 2020. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhejiang authorities released a guideline on handling complaints from the province's foreign-invested companies on Jan 13, marking the first-ever provincial government regulation in this regard nationwide.

The guideline, which will come into effect on Feb 1, designates the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce as the provincial-level organization that is responsible for responding to complaints from foreign-invested companies. Its counterparts at the county and city level will be designated by the corresponding local governments.

According to the guideline, a complaints-handling organization should determine whether or not to accept and hear a complaint case within seven working days after receiving the complete complaint materials. Following that, the case should be settled within 60 days after it was accepted.

"Releasing the guideline is part of our efforts to further improve Zhejiang's business environment and to motivate all Zhejiang cities to better deal with complaints lodged by foreign investors," said a head official from the foreign investment department at the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce.

The official added that the guideline will protect the legitimate rights of the province's foreign companies and investors, as well as push forward their sustainable development.