Reform, child safety top public concerns

Ministries responded to a series of recent public concerns, including updates on the reform of State-owned Enterprises.

SOEs to go through continued reform

China has picked 31 Stateowned enterprises for the third round of SOE mixed ownership reform with the aim of attracting more private capital into the State sector.

Meng Wei, spokeswoman for the National Development and Reform Commission, said during a news conference in Beijing that the State Council has chosen 31 State enterprises run by regional authorities or the central government. She said the NDRC is working with the pilot enterprises to come up with implementation plans

Mixed-ownership reform is designed to further diversify the ownership structure of SOEs, going beyond mergers, acquisitions and reorganization, and has helped improve central SOEs’ efficiency and competitiveness.

The first two rounds of reform covered 19 SOEs that are implementing their restructuring programs and more than one third of them have completed most of their reforms, including introducing new investors, boosting corporate governance and setting up new internal incentive mechanisms, Meng said.

Financial results of 2,041 “zombie companies”, all subsidiaries of 81 major central SOEs, improved their business performance by cutting annual losses of 88.5 billion yuan ($13.36 billion) in 2016.

Ministry urges greater kindergarten checks

The Ministry of Education ordered checks in kindergartens across the country Friday following a series of child abuse cases.

The ministry said in a statement that the recent child abuse cases in kindergartens have greatly harmed the victims and their families and resulted in serious consequences. And these incidents have exposed problems in the management of kindergartens, it said.

Local governments must monitor kindergarten staff in the inspections, rectify wrongdoing and investigate any activities that harm children, according to the ministry.

The ministry also urged education authorities nationwide to set up a regular supervision mechanism and improve the accountability system to punish those involved in child abuse.

Graduates rewarded for grassroots work

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, together with five other ministries including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education, has issued a guideline to further encourage graduates who work in grassroots areas across China with favorable policies.

It was made clear in the plan that the government aims to spend approximately 10 years nurturing a large group of young expertise with a good educational background and rich work experiences in grassroots areas in China.

The guideline urged governments at all levels to give career development incentives to grassroots young talent and widen their career path. Other incentives in terms of medical care as well as education for their children are also included.

According to the guideline, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will select 5,000 university graduates every year as the country’s national backup for grassroots talents.