Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Monday, November 18, 2013

The Central Committee speaks

But what does the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China really say?

China promises to give markets 'decisive role' in economy

China's ruling party pledged to let markets play a decisive role in allocating resources as it unveiled a reform agenda for the next decade…

China aims to achieve decisive results in its reform push by 2020, with economic changes a central focus… the ruling Communist party said in a communique released by state media at the end of a four-day closed-door meeting of the party's 205-member central committee.

"The core issue is to straighten out the relationship between government and the market, allowing the market to play a decisive role in allocating resources and improving the government's role," the statement said…

In previous policy statements, the Communist party had often described markets as playing a basic role in allocating resources, Xinhua news agency said, meaning the new language amounts to an upgrading of its role in the party philosophy.

Still, the party did not issue any bold reform plans for the country's state-owned enterprises (SOEs), saying that while both state firms and the private sector were important and it would encourage private enterprise, the dominance of the "public sector" in the economy would be maintained…

Among the issues singled out for reform, the party said it would work to deepen fiscal and tax reform, establish a unified land market in cities and the countryside, set up a sustainable social security system, and give farmers more property rights – all seen as necessary for putting the world's second-largest economy on a more sustainable footing…

Some reforms could face stiff resistance from powerful interest groups such as local governments or state-owned monopolies, people involved in reform discussions have said.