Li demands breaking administrative barriers in market

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has urged local governments to break down unreasonable administrative barriers to foster a unified market via reforms in the country's economic system.

Reforms should respect the law of the market, because the market's force is irreplaceable, Li said at a forum held Friday in Jiujiang, east China's Jiangxi Province.

He also called for efforts to close the gap between urban and rural areas as well as those among different regions in China, as the potential of less-developed areas will provide huge momentum for China's economic development and the improvement of people's lives.

The forum focused on regional development along the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway, and it was attended by provincial-level officials including Jiangxi Party Chief Su Rong and Governor Lu Xinshe, Hubei Party Chief Li Hongzhong and Hunan Governor Xu Shousheng.

Administrative boundaries are not market territories, and governments should shift their functions and cast off restrictions within specific sectors as well as those among local authorities, Li Keqiang said.

In order to secure energetic and robust development, He urged forming a single market across the country and ensuring the free flow of market factors according to market rules.

He also told local governments to provide support for the market in terms of trans-regional transportation networks and streamlined job market and social security systems.

The path to China's sustainable and healthy development lies in the transformation of the development pattern and the adjustment of the economic structure. The greatest mission in the adjustment is boosting domestic demand, and there is huge potential in the central and western regions in this regard, he said.

Li said the regions along the Yangtze River are a lever to spur development in central and western China.

Li noted that the average urban Chinese resident makes three times more than his rural counterpart, and the average per capita GDP in the eastern regions was almost eight times that of some western ones.

To solve this problem, he urged working for urbanization, modern agriculture, urban-rural integration and the integration of development in the regions along the Yangtze River.

"It is like a game of Go chess. The developments in the board's corners and around the sides are vital, but the moves in the center are important, as well," Li said.

He required efforts to promote opening up both domestically and abroad, in order to boost demand.

Moreover, Li called for efforts to maintain the rule of law in the economy and to provide equal rights, equal opportunities and fair rules for all market participants.

Fair market competition will also create more jobs for the public, Li said.

At Friday's forum, Li also listened to reports and suggestions from local officials on relevant issues and held discussions with them.