China should further ease market access for private and foreign investment and break up monopolies, Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, wrote in an article published in the Economic Daily on Tuesday.
In particular, the country needs to fully open such sectors as education, medical treatment and public health, elder care and the cultural sector to private capital, Ning said in the article.
Also, the country needs to optimize the consumption environment, further streamline administrative procedures and delegate power in order to provide more convenience for residents and local enterprises, Ning said, noting that the authorities have to adopt stricter quality standards and tougher supervision measures to build a fair market.
China has huge potential in consumption, said Ning. But there are still wide gaps between China and developed countries when it comes to purchases of consumer durables and public services, according to Ning.
For instance, China had 100 cars per 1,000 residents in 2015, while the US already had 781 and Japan had 593 as of 2012, according to Ning's article.
Also, the stock of Chinese public infrastructure only accounts for 38 percent of that in Western Europe countries, and 23 percent of that in North America, said the article.
China should speed up supply-side reforms based on new consumption patterns, and macroeconomic policies should be optimized to pave the way for this process, said Ning.
To promote supply-side innovation, the country still needs to improve its basic infrastructure including the rural power network and urban underground pipe networks, said Ning.
Meanwhile, China needs to continue to implement positive policies to increase employment and incomes to ease pressure on employees, said the article.
