China's economic system reform is the driving force for comprehensively deepening reform

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 11 (Reporter Qi Zhongxi) “Reform”, today's China's “keyword”. 2014, the opening year of China's comprehensively deepening reform.

Economic system reform is the focus of comprehensively deepening reform. In May this year, the State Council approved and forwarded the Development and Reform Commission's "Opinions on the Key Tasks for Deepening Economic System Reform in 2014", making arrangements for the key tasks of this year's economic system reform. Against the current backdrop of relatively great downward pressure on the economy, how effective has China's economic system reform been? Where is it heading? It has attracted attention from all sides at home and abroad.

The tide is calm and the two banks are broad; the wind is fair and a single sail hangs. Administrative system reform, price system reform, foreign trade system reform, investment system reform…… In the comprehensively deepening reform, economic system reform is playing a huge driving role.

Grasp one core: handle the relationship between the government and the market well

Not long ago, Chen Zhu, who registered a company in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, did not expect that a process that used to take 29 days to complete can now be finished in 4 and a half working days.

“As long as you download a form from the e-government platform and fill it out, you can make an appointment for acceptance. No need to run back and forth between departments anymore.” he said happily.

Chen Zhu is only one of the tens of millions of people who have benefited since the reform of administrative approval procedures in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. Since being officially launched at the end of September last year, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone has become a “test field” for many institutional reforms and innovations. Over the past year or more, more than 12,000 new enterprises have been added in the zone cumulatively, with more than 100 born on average every day. Huang Min, a registration officer at the Shanghai Free Trade Zone Comprehensive Service Hall, told reporters that originally only 90 numbers were issued in a day, but now issuing 200 numbers is still not enough.

“The core issue of economic system reform is to handle the relationship between the government and the market well. To maintain stable economic development throughout the year, it is especially necessary to seek impetus from deepening reform and liberate the productivity of micro entities.” said Zhang Yansheng, Secretary-General of the Academic Committee of the Development and Reform Commission.

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Party proposed that economic system reform is the focus of comprehensively deepening reform, and the core issue is to handle the relationship between the government and the market well. As the “first move” of the government's self-revolution and the “opening cannon” of macroeconomic regulation, streamlining administration and delegating power has continued to advance in depth, enterprises have been able to loosen their bonds, and economic vitality has been able to burst forth.

Over the past year or more, the State Council has cancelled and delegated 7 batches totaling 632 administrative approval and other matters; revised the government-approved investment project catalogue, and enterprise investment projects requiring approval by State Council departments decreased by about 60%; reduced and integrated special fiscal transfer payment projects, from 220 before the reform to about 150; reduced administrative and institutional charges, reducing the burden on enterprises and individuals by about 10 billion yuan each year……

“The focus of this reform this year is, on the one hand, to accelerate the reform of the investment approval system and further streamline and delegate investment approval matters, and on the other hand, to further improve the environment for private investment.” said Kong Jingyuan, Director of the Department of Comprehensive Economic System Reform of the Development and Reform Commission.

In the second half of the year, the “gold content” of streamlining administration and delegating power further increased.

The State Council executive meeting on August 19 proposed: cancel and delegate another 87 approval matters with high “gold content”, of which 68 are cancelled, so that those that can be cancelled should be cancelled as much as possible rather than delegated, avoiding leaving a tail behind.

The State Council executive meeting held on November 5 decided to cut pre-approval, promote online approval of investment projects, and unleash investment potential and development vitality.

Wang Jun, Deputy Director of the Consulting Research Department of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, pointed out that China's economy has always faced relatively great downward pressure during the shift in growth speed, and the reform using streamlining administration and delegating power as a breakthrough is playing a role in stabilizing growth, while also taking into account the long-term goals of a higher level and more sustainable development.

Seize one key point: the market plays a decisive role in resource allocation

Since the beginning of this year, in order to further reduce government pricing items, relevant departments have successively, according to the degree of market development and competition conditions, liberalized a number of commodity and service prices that have conditions for competition. Such as the prices of medical services at non-public medical institutions and telecommunications tariffs.

“Seize the current time window when the overall price level is stable, and actively and steadily advance price reforms in resource products and in transportation, telecommunications, medicine, medical services, etc.” -- The "Opinions on the Key Tasks for Deepening Economic System Reform in 2014" clearly proposed that whatever prices can be formed through market competition must be resolutely left to the market.

According to Kong Jingyuan, this year the reform of the price formation mechanism was also advanced, focusing on improving wind power price policy, studying and formulating a natural gas power generation price formation mechanism based on benchmark electricity prices, carrying out pilot reform of transmission and distribution prices, and adjusting water resource fees and water supply prices for some water conservancy projects.