Govt thinktank report on reform under spotlight

The Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC), a Chinese government thinktank, has highlighted eight key reform areas in a report ahead of a key plenum of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The goal of the country's next round of reform is to construct a dynamic, innovation-led, inclusive, orderly socialist market economy with rule of law, according to the report published on the official website for the DRC-sponsored China Economic Times.

The new round of reform will serve to improve China's market economy system, transform government functions and innovate the structure of enterprises, with its core being "to properly handle the relationship between the government and the market," says the report.

The Chinese government has attached great significance to the role of reform in providing momentum for the country's growth and development, with comprehensive reforms expected to be mapped out during the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee scheduled for November.

The DRC report details eight main reform areas. The areas cover monopoly industries, land, finance, tax and fiscal systems, opening-up, government administration, state-owned assets, as well as boosting innovation and green development.

The report suggests to further widen market access and promote competition in key industries, including to diversify investment in the railway sector, ease access to exploring unconventional oil and gas and relax restrictions for importing crude, refined oil and natural gas.

It also proposes to reform the electricity industry and its pricing scheme, and to re-organize telecommunication enterprises.

The report offers advice on deepening land reform, suggesting to allow collectively-owned rural and state-owned land to enter the market of non-farmland under necessary planning and regulations.

A reform on the financial system should be promoted, with emphases on lowering the threshold for entering the financial market and further liberalizing interest and exchange rates, the report proposes.

A new round of fiscal and tax reform should be initiated to strengthen fiscal stability and sustainability in the medium- to long-term, including improvements in the social insurance system and a local tax reform featuring property tax and consumption tax.

DRC economists also propose to further open up the Chinese economy, introducing competitive investors and operators in sectors including energy, telecommunications and finance, and improving the business climate in China.

The DRC is a policy advisory organization for the Chinese central government.