To push forward economic reform in 2004 in accordance with the decision of the Third Plenary Meeting of the 16th Party Congress, the State Development and Reform Commission recently issued the instruction for China's economic reform for 2004. According to the guideline, this year will see the economic reform to be focused on the following seven fields.  

1. Improve ownership structure and push reform on SOEs forward

Further adjust and improve the ownership structure, categorize the existing SOEs, and arrange the distribution and restructuring of state-owned economy. Push ahead the joint-stock transformation of SOEs. Absorb more foreign and private capitals into restructuring and reorganization of SOEs.

Sectors with mixed ownership are greatly encouraged. Improve measures to facilitate the reform on industries including power, telecom, and aviation. Speed up to work out system reform schemes for mail and rail industries. Make better policy and legal environment for non-public sectors and encourage, foster and guide their development.

2. Deepen reform in rural areas

Make faster a reform of tax replacing fee system in rural areas. Deepen reform on grain circulation, Speed up reform on land use system.

Provide perfect financial services for farmers. Build and improve a mechanism for transfer of surplus labor force from rural areas to non-agricultural sectors and urban areas. Give a new boost to economic development in rural areas.

3. Deepen system reform on finance, taxation, investment and price

Improve macro-control system. Conduct sweeping reform on state-owned commercial banks. Transform Construction Bank of China and Bank of China, as pilots, into joint-stock banks smoothly.

Formulate reform program for car uses in government organs. Some sectors in the old industrial base in northeast China will pioneer the change of value added tax to consumption oriented from production oriented. Carry out reform schemes on investment system and work out measure for implementation. Issue implementation measures for reform on electricity pricing. Realize the reform program on domestic air transportation pricing in civil aviation sector.

Perform more efficient control on, and to further lower, drug prices. Rectify and standardize charging in education and healthcare. Put various charging policies for employment and re-employment in place. Keep on practice of making prices and charges to the public.

4. Deepen administrative system reform

Push the reform on administrative system and change the government function at a faster pace.

5. Build a modern market-driven system

Open the market wider and build a modern market system. This includes the continuation of a stable development of capital market. Improve the approving process for corporate bond issuance. Develop the futures market in a steady way. Develop property transaction with closer supervision over the deals. Step up efforts on exploring and improving the system of stock transfer under unified supervision. Speed up building a social credit system.

Promote management system reforms on trade associations and chambers of commerce. Further improve the system for opening-up by establishing and perfecting the mechanisms for foreign trade promotion as well as for supervision, pre-warning and reaction for foreign trade.

6. Deepen the reforms on employment and income distribution system

Offer a perfect social security system. Weed out more systematic restrictions on reasonable labor flow. Accelerate the construction of a standardized labor market.

Sum up experience of Liaoning Province on the trial for putting up a social security system and extend the experimentation to Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.

7. Advance social system reform

Push forward the system reforms on sci-tech, education, culture and healthcare to achieve a harmonious economic and social development.

Reforms should be implemented or go deeper in industries for which reform schemes have already been ready, such as investment, grain circulation, power, telecom, etc. people responsible in the State Development and Reform Commission stressed.

Those for which it takes time to work out reform plans should continue research, make progress by pilot reforms or other ways and present reform schemes as soon as possible.

For reforms on some sectors, which are featured with wide involvement, deep interests, and high risks, arrangements should be made in line with the instructions of the State Council to conduct various trials and build up experience and fan out gradually.

(People’s Daily April 18, 2004)