Reforms mulled to meet growth target

China has the confidence and capability to achieve its economic growth target of 7.5 percent this year, the head of the country's top economic planning body, said Wednesday, the latest confirmation from the authorities that the country will direct more attention toward stabilizing the economy as it continues to press ahead with reforms.

China will unveil an urbanization plan in the second half of the year and press ahead reforms to the household registration, or hukou, system, the official also said.

"We are confident and have the conditions and capacity to realize the full-year economic growth target of around 7.5 percent. But we also need to make arduous efforts," Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said in an interview posted online Wednesday.

His remarks came after a Tuesday meeting by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, which pledged that the country will continue to coordinate the multiple tasks of stabilizing growth, restructuring the economy and promoting reforms.

"A series of recent comments made by the country's top leaders and officials showed that they have formed similar observations on China's current economic situation," Tian Yun, editor-in-chief of the China Macroeconomic Information Network website, run by the China Society of Macroeconomics, a government think tank, told the Global Times Wednesday.

"The continuous decline of the economy may put the year's growth target at risk. The policymakers will try every necessary means to stabilize the economy and create more room for economic restructuring," Tian said.

China's top leaders have stated on various occasions that China will focus on restructuring and advancing reforms as long as major economic indicators are within a reasonable range. But they also indicated they will not allow the economy to fall below the bottom line of 7 percent annual growth.

"The signals from top leaders show that the focus will still be pushing forward economic restructuring and reforms but more attention will be given to stabilizing the economy in the second half," Tang Jianwei, a senior macroeconomic analyst at the Bank of Communications in Shanghai, told the Global Times Wednesday.

"More measures to promote consumption, investment and foreign trade will be released in the coming months. But these will lead toward more sustainable growth," Tang said.

In a fresh move to press ahead with industrial upgrades, the NDRC said in a statement published on its website Wednesday that it will start soliciting public opinions on promoting key areas in the new emerging service industry.

The move added to a raft of recent measures by the government to stabilize growth, including tax reductions for micro- and small-sized enterprises, speeding up construction of railways, and eliminating outdated industrial capacity.

Xu revealed Wednesday China will roll out a plan to promote urbanization in the second half and continue to reform the household registration system, land and tax policies to improve the quality of urbanization.

"The key to promoting urbanization is to allow migrant workers to enjoy the same status and opportunities as those of urban residents and provide equal public services such as healthcare and education to them," Tian said.

"To invest in such public services will be worth a million times more than investment in outdated and unsustainable sectors and industries. The money invested in these public services is the price the country needs to pay to make the Chinese dream come true for every migrant worker," Tian said.

In the online interview Wednesday, the NDRC official also said China aims to build a long-term mechanism for the healthy development of the property market and promote steady growth in property development and investment.

The remark echoes the statement released after Tuesday's meeting held by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee that China will promote the stable and healthy development of the property market in the second half, without mentioning "regulation" or "control" previously stressed by authorities.

"It seems the new leadership holds a different view on managing the property market to that of their predecessors. It didn't stress regulation and probably will keep the development of the property market in line with the urbanization drive," Tang said.

"The policy focus may be on speeding up shanty town renovations to increase property supply in the market rather than suppressing demand," Tang told the Global Times.