Xi-led reforms picking up speed in new era

About 40 years after China set sail on its voyage of reform and opening-up, the journey is still going full speed and heading toward ever greater goals.

At the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress in October, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, president, and chairman of Central Military Commission, outlined new moves to deepen reform in all areas.

In his report to the Party congress, Xi listed “continuing to comprehensively deepen reform” in the basic policy to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.

The report proposed 158 reform measures and clarified important reform areas and key sections, including supply-side structural reform, which prioritizes improving the quality of the supply system.

Unshakable resolve

During his first inspection tour after the Party congress, to Jiangsu province, Xi issued instructions on the reform of State-owned enterprises, economic restructuring in regions running out of natural resources and rural vitalization.

In the following months, as Xi traveled from Hainan to Hubei to Shandong province, he took the lead in guiding the deepening of reform in all areas to produce new advances.

In mid-November 2017, at its first meeting, the leading group for deepening overall reform of the 19th CPC Central Committee, headed by Xi, set the principles of carrying out reforms and underscored systematic, unified and coordinated action in pushing forward those tasks.

An action plan for 2018-22 was issued, elaborating on who, when and how to carry out the 158 reform measures.

Xi has repeatedly voiced his resolve to continue reform.

“China’s reform will cover more areas, and more and stronger steps will be taken in pursuing this endeavor,” Xi said at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, in November.

At the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference in April, Xi called reform and opening-up “China’s second revolution”, which had not only profoundly changed the country but greatly influenced the world.

“We should endeavor to advance structural reform, remove all institutional barriers to innovation and fully unlock innovation potential and energize the market,” Xi said on July 25 when addressing the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa.

At its annual session in March, the National People’s Congress adopted an amend- ment to the Constitution, which laid solid foundations for longterm, comprehensive reform.

Profound changes

At the same time, a largescale reform of Party and State institutions was unfurled. In less than three months, the country established and restructured 25 Party and government institutions.

Several promising areas have been selected to be pilots for advancing reform and opening-up.

In April, Hainan province, a special economic zone for 30 years, received guidelines on supporting its effort to deepen reform and opening-up from the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

Since the announcement of its founding in April 2017, Xiongan New Area, sitting at the center of the triangular area formed by Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei’s provincial capital Shijiazhuang, has been gradually materializing Xi’s strategic vision.

At a July meeting of the central committee for deepening overall reform, Xiongan was granted greater powers to conduct reforms and take the initiative in reforms in innovative development, city governance and public service.

From the Hainan pilot free trade zone in the south to Xiongan New Area in the north, China has been opening its doors wider and wider by rolling out more reform measures nationwide.

Reforms formulated on the basis of pilot free trade zones have been copied and promoted elsewhere in the country.

Opening wider

China has also been gearing up for the China International Import Expo, which will be held in Shanghai in November.

A mechanism for solving trade, business and investment disputes along the Belt and Road has been set up.

From elderly services to medical insurance, from education to employment, from economic development to social causes, China has implemented a series of targeted reform measures to meet the people’s need for a better life.

China’s continued reform and opening-up is advancing with strong momentum and has been welcomed worldwide.

The 2018 China Business Climate Survey Report, released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, indicated that 74 percent of its members plan to expand investment in China, the highest percentage in recent years.