China has made big strides in cutting red tape and burdensome regulations over the past year, according to a flagship World Bank report on the ease of doing business in different countries around the world.

The improvements in areas such as trading across borders, getting electricity and paying taxes propelled China into 46th place this year out of 190 countries, from 78th place last year, moving it closer to the standards of advanced economies. China posted the third-best improvement in the ranking, after Afghanistan and Djibouti. New Zealand topped the list, while Somalia was in last place, exactly as in 2018.

The progress attributed to China on regulation comes at a time when Beijing is facing intense criticism, particularly from the Trump administration in the US, for making life difficult for foreign companies operating in the country, because of practices such as forced technology transfer and the theft of intellectual property. However, World Bank officials stress that these categories are not measured in the Doing Business ranking, which is keyed to assess the business environment for domestic entrepreneurs and does not specifically look at the climate for international investors.