To push forward economic reform in 2004 in accordance with the
decision of the Third Plenary Meeting of the 16th
Party Congress, the State Development and Reform Commission
recently issued the instruction for China's economic reform for
2004. According to the guideline, this year will see the economic
reform to be focused on the following seven fields.??
1. Improve ownership structure and push reform on SOEs
forward
Further adjust and improve the ownership structure, categorize
the existing SOEs, and arrange the distribution and restructuring
of state-owned economy. Push ahead the joint-stock transformation
of SOEs. Absorb more foreign and private capitals into
restructuring and reorganization of SOEs.
Sectors with mixed ownership are greatly encouraged. Improve
measures to facilitate the reform on industries including power,
telecom, and aviation. Speed up to work out system reform schemes
for mail and rail industries. Make better policy and legal
environment for non-public sectors and encourage, foster and guide
their development.
2. Deepen reform in rural areas
Make faster a reform of tax replacing fee system in rural areas.
Deepen reform on grain circulation, Speed up reform on land use
system.
Provide perfect financial services for farmers. Build and
improve a mechanism for transfer of surplus labor force from rural
areas to non-agricultural sectors and urban areas. Give a new boost
to economic development in rural areas.
3. Deepen system reform on finance, taxation, investment and
price
Improve macro-control system. Conduct sweeping reform on
state-owned commercial banks. Transform Construction Bank of China
and Bank of China, as pilots, into joint-stock banks smoothly.
Formulate reform program for car uses in government organs. Some
sectors in the old industrial base in northeast China will pioneer
the change of value added tax to consumption oriented from
production oriented. Carry out reform schemes on investment system
and work out measure for implementation. Issue implementation
measures for reform on electricity pricing. Realize the reform
program on domestic air transportation pricing in civil aviation
sector.
Perform more efficient control on, and to further lower, drug
prices. Rectify and standardize charging in education and
healthcare. Put various charging policies for employment and
re-employment in place. Keep on practice of making prices and
charges to the public.
4. Deepen administrative system reform
Push the reform on administrative system and change the
government function at a faster pace.
5. Build a modern market-driven system
Open the market wider and build a modern market system. This
includes the continuation of a stable development of capital
market. Improve the approving process for corporate bond issuance.
Develop the futures market in a steady way. Develop property
transaction with closer supervision over the deals. Step up efforts
on exploring and improving the system of stock transfer under
unified supervision. Speed up building a social credit system.
Promote management system reforms on trade associations and
chambers of commerce. Further improve the system for opening-up by
establishing and perfecting the mechanisms for foreign trade
promotion as well as for supervision, pre-warning and reaction for
foreign trade.
6. Deepen the reforms on employment and income
distribution system
Offer a perfect social security system. Weed out more systematic
restrictions on reasonable labor flow. Accelerate the construction
of a standardized labor market.
Sum up experience of Liaoning Province on the trial for putting
up a social security system and extend the experimentation to Jilin
and Heilongjiang provinces.
7. Advance social system reform
Push forward the system reforms on sci-tech, education, culture
and healthcare to achieve a harmonious economic and social
development.
Reforms should be implemented or go deeper in industries for
which reform schemes have already been ready, such as investment,
grain circulation, power, telecom, etc. people responsible in the
State Development and Reform Commission stressed.
Those for which it takes time to work out reform plans should
continue research, make progress by pilot reforms or other ways and
present reform schemes as soon as possible.
For reforms on some sectors, which are featured with wide
involvement, deep interests, and high risks, arrangements should be
made in line with the instructions of the State Council to conduct
various trials and build up experience and fan out gradually.
(People’s Daily April 18, 2004)