Full Text: Report on the Work of the Government(6)

III. Deepening Reform and Opening Up

Reform and opening up is crucial for driving development. We must focus on economic structural reform as we comprehensively deepen reform, taking all things into consideration in planning, working solidly to deliver concrete results, making new breakthroughs in areas that can boost development as a whole, and strengthening new momentum to drive development.

We will do more to streamline administration and delegate more powers to lower-level governments and to society in general while improving regulation.

This year, we will delegate the power or cancel the requirement for government review for more items, cancel all non-administrative review, and establish a system for exercising well-regulated management over the government review process. We will deepen reform of the business system; further simplify the process for capital registration; take gradual steps to integrate the business license, the organization code certificate, and the certificate of taxation registration into one certificate; and overhaul and regulate intermediary services. We will draw up a negative list for market access, ensure that provincial-level governments make their lists of powers and responsibilities open to the public, and make sure that anything the law does not authorize is not done, while all duties and functions assigned by law are performed.

Local governments must completely let go of powers that should be delegated to the market or society, and properly exercise the power of review over all items that have been delegated to them by higher-level governments. We will exercise stronger oversight both during and after the handling of matters, and improve the network of services for both enterprises and the general public. We will work to improve the credit rating system, put in place a national unified system of codes for rating credit, and establish a platform for sharing and exchanging information on credit. We will, in accordance with the law, protect the information security of enterprises and individuals.

It goes without saying that powers should not be held without good reason. Governments at all levels need to adopt effective ways to streamline administration, delegate powers, and transform their functions, creating an enabling environment for enterprises, making it easier to start up in business, and creating the right environment for fair competition. Procedures and processes must be simplified and time frames must be clarified for all items requiring administrative review, and cuts to government power will be made to boost market vitality.

We will take multiple measures to reform the investment and financing systems.

We will substantially reduce the number of investment projects that require government review, delegate more powers of review to lower-level governments, significantly streamline the need for preliminary review for investment projects, and conduct project reviews online. We will greatly relax market access for private investment and encourage the use of private capital to set up equity funds. The government will guide nongovernmental investments toward key projects by subsidizing investments, injecting capital, and establishing funds. We will deepen reform of railway investment and financing by making good use of railway development funds. We will actively promote models of cooperation between government and nongovernmental capital in developing infrastructure and public utilities.

We will take timely action to accelerate price reform.

This reform is aimed at ensuring the market plays the decisive role in allocating resources and significantly reducing the number of categories and items of goods and services for which prices are set by the government. In principle, we will lift pricing controls over all goods and services that can viably compete in markets. The government will stop setting prices for most pharmaceuticals and delegate to lower-level governments the power to set prices for certain basic public services.

We will expand the trials of pricing reforms for electricity transmission and distribution, carry out pricing reforms for water used in agriculture, and improve pricing policies to make them more conducive to energy conservation and environmental protection. We will improve the pricing of resource products and fully implement a system of tiered pricing for electricity, water, and natural gas used for household purposes. At the same time, we must strengthen oversight over pricing, improve market order, and ensure the basic living standards of people on low incomes.

We will ensure that progress is made in the reform of the fiscal and tax systems.

We will put in place a comprehensive, well-regulated, open, and transparent budgeting system. With the exception of cases where classified information is involved, all central and local government departments must release their budgets and final accounts for public oversight. We will increase the percentage of funds transferred from the budgets for state capital operations to general public budgets. We will introduce medium-term fiscal planning. We will design effective measures to make good use of government funds at hand.

We will devote serious energy to completing work to replace business tax with VAT across the board, adjust and improve policies on consumption tax, and extend price-based resource taxes to cover more types of resources. We will submit a proposal to the NPC Standing Committee on revising the Law on the Administration of Tax Collection.

We will reform the transfer payments system, clearly define the respective powers and spending responsibilities of the central and local governments, and make appropriate adjustments to the division of revenue between them.

We will move ahead with financial reform to better serve the real economy.

We will encourage qualified private investors to establish, in accordance with the law, small and medium-sized banks and other financial institutions; there will be no quota imposed on them, and approval will be granted as long as all required conditions are met. We will deepen reform of rural credit cooperatives, and keep their status as legal persons in their counties stable. We will ensure development-oriented and policy-backed financial institutions function effectively in increasing the supply of public goods.

A deposit insurance system will be established. We will further liberalize interest rates and improve the central bank' s framework for their regulation. We will work to keep the RMB exchange rate at an appropriate and balanced level and allow it to float more freely. We will make steady progress in realizing the convertibility of the RMB capital accounts, expand the use of the RMB internationally, accelerate the establishment of a cross-border payment system for the RMB, improve the worldwide clearing system for the RMB, pilot private overseas investment, and launch the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect on a trial basis at an appropriate time.

We will strengthen the multilevel capital market and implement the reform to introduce a system of registration for issuing stocks. We will develop regional equity markets to serve small and medium-sized enterprises, carry out trials of equity crowdfunding, encourage the securitization of credit assets, prompt an expansion of the issuance of corporate bonds, and develop the financial derivatives market. We will launch insurance to cover major disasters and commercial pension schemes that allow for deferred payment of individual income tax.

We will explore new approaches to financial regulation to prevent and diffuse financial risks. We will channel great energy into developing inclusive finance and ensuring equitable access to financial services for all market entities.

We will deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state capital.

We will push forward with targeted reform of SOEs on the basis of having clearly defined their functions. We will move more swiftly in carrying out trials on establishing state capital investment companies and operating companies, create a market-based platform for state capital operations, and improve their performance.