Xi calls for "decisive results" in reforms in crucial areas

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), presided over the sixth meeting of the central committee for deepening overall reform Wednesday.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) [File Photo: Xinhua]

Xi, also Chinese president, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and head of the central committee for deepening overall reform, called for "decisive results" in reforms in crucial areas and key links by 2020.

The country should continue to fight the tough battles and "crack hard nuts," ensure each undertaking is successful and lay a decisive foundation for fulfilling the reform tasks mapped out by the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, he said.

Li Keqiang and Wang Huning, both members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy heads of the reform committee, also attended the meeting.

The meeting reviewed and approved a series of official documents:

-- a plan and a guideline both on launching a science and technology innovation board at the Shanghai Stock Exchange and experimenting with the registration-based IPO system;

-- a guideline on establishing a system of protected natural areas with national parks as its mainstay;

-- a guideline on deepening educational and teaching reform and comprehensively improving the quality of mandatory education;

-- a guideline on encouraging and guiding the flow of personnel to remote areas with harsh conditions, local communities and the frontline;

-- a guideline on deepening overall reform in the domains of politics and law;

-- a guideline on advancing the reform of the property right system for natural resource assets;

-- a guideline on building a national territorial space planning system and supervising the implementation;

-- a guideline on setting up a market-oriented green technologies innovation mechanism;

-- a plan on the protection and restoration of natural forests;

-- a plan for building Hainan into a national ecological civilization pilot zone;

-- a plan for experimenting with the national park mechanism in the tropical forests in Hainan;

-- the key points of the reform committee's work in 2019;

-- a report summarizing the reform committee's work in 2018;

-- a report summarizing and assessing the implementation of deepening reform in all areas since the 18th CPC National Congress.

The move to launch the science and technology innovation board and experiment with the registration-based IPO system is a significant measure to implement the innovation-driven development strategy and deepen the capital market reform, according to a statement released after the meeting.

It urged for making the capital market more inclusive for science and technology innovation enterprises, with emphasis on support in key and core technology innovation and improving the capability of serving the real economy.

Steady efforts should be made to experiment with the registration-based IPO system, coordinate the reforms of stock offering, listing, information disclosure, trading and delisting regulations, and establish and improve a stock offering and listing system centered on information disclosure, said the statement.

The meeting stressed innovation in the management system for protected natural areas in accordance with the philosophy of taking mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands as an ecosystem.

The protected areas should be designed in a unified manner and administered at different levels and zones, while natural ecological systems of national significance should be included into the national park system for strict protection.

A management system for protected natural areas should be formed with national parks as the mainstay, supported by nature reserves as the foundation and complemented with various natural parks.

The country should foster virtue through education, observe the laws of education, reinforce the basic role of teachers and enhance well-rounded student development.

Talent should be encouraged to work in remote areas with harsh conditions, in local communities and on the frontline, the meeting stressed, while noting it is imperative to follow the principle of the Party exercising leadership over talent administration.

To push forward reform in political and legal fields, the country must uphold the absolute Party leadership, enhance coordination and planning, and step up the creation of political and legal institutions with optimized, coordinated and efficient features.

While saying the property right system of natural resource assets played a fundamental role in strengthening ecological conservation and pushing forward ecological civilization, the meeting demanded efforts to clarify the ownership of related property rights and conduct uniform investigation and surveillance to promote intensive development of natural resources, ecological protection and restoration.

It also called for a unified planning for national territorial space integrating the plans for main functional zones, land use, and urban and rural development.

China should build a green technology innovation system in which enterprises are the main players and synergy is created through the joint efforts of enterprises, universities, and research institutes, and strive to advance integration of research and development, application and popularization, and industrial development of green technologies.

The meeting pointed out that it was of great significance to put all natural forests under protection for building a "Beautiful China" and promoting sustainable development, demanding more efforts in this regard.

It stressed that the CPC Central Committee's support for building Hainan into a national ecological civilization pilot zone and piloting the national park mechanism in the tropical forests in Hainan aimed to uphold and act on the philosophy that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." It urged Hainan Province to carefully organize efforts, pinpoint tasks and shoulder due responsibilities, and told central authorities to strengthen coordination, guidance and policy support.

While noting China has generally established the main framework for reform in major fields and made breakthroughs in deepening reform in all areas since the 18th CPC National Congress, the meeting urged for greater efforts in carrying out major reform steps with fundamental, overall and institutional significance, and beneficial to keeping a healthy economic growth, social stability and people's livelihoods.

The meeting also called for emphasis on solving concrete problems, targeted measures and flexible policy implementation while pushing ahead with reforms.