Agenda for comprehensive reforms expected to be set at the meeting, say experts

Leaders of the Communist Party of China will convene a much-anticipated meeting starting on Nov 9 to set the country's reform agenda for the next decade.

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee will be held between Nov 9 and 12 in Beijing, according to a Party statement on Tuesday.

It will be the third time that the Central Committee, with more than 200 members, has met since the new Party leadership was elected last November.

Historically, such third plenary sessions draft key reform plans, particularly on economic matters.

The announcement was made after the Political Bureau, the top decision-making body of the Party, held a meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

During the meeting, they listened to a report about opinions solicited within and outside the Party on a draft decision of the CPC Central Committee on major issues concerning comprehensive reforms.

The draft decision will be submitted for review at the third plenum, the statement said. No details were revealed.

The statement said the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation — a concept that has been promoted by the new Party leadership — requires deepening reforms in an all-round way.

It also stressed that the Party's leadership must be strengthened and improved, giving full play to its core role that exercises overall leadership and coordinates all efforts to ensure success of the reforms.

Party organs at all levels are urged to exercise their duty to lead reforms, improve decision-making mechanisms and raise the capacity of officials in charge in pushing forward the reforms.

Liu Shanying, a political researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Tuesday's meeting has made clear that the latest round of reform is a collective mission of the whole Party.

"A comprehensive roadmap is expected to be rolled out at the plenum to integrate related departments to carry out the reform plan in a collaborative way," he said, "and the central government may take charge of the issues that require nationwide coordination, such as social security".

Tuesday's meeting also emphasized the need for stimulating the vitality of productive forces such as labor, technology, management and capital.

The statement said the Party will speed up development of the socialist market economy, democracy, cultural development, social harmony and environmental protection.

"We should let all sources of wealth spread and let all people enjoy more fruits of development fairly," it said.

Liu said he expects the upcoming meeting to emphasize the need for administrative deregulation, which can cut red tape, support the long-term growth of small businesses and inject vitality into the market.

The State Council lowered the administrative barriers for starting new businesses on Friday by eliminating some registered capital requirements and simplifying bureaucratic procedures for establishing new companies.

"The economic growth of the past decades was achieved at the cost of excessive energy consumption and unequal distribution of resources among business owners," Liu said.

"The upcoming meeting may address social equity by limiting monopolist industries and allowing those with advanced technology and scientific management to benefit more from daily economic activities."

The Party's central leadership on Tuesday also approved a regulation to fight waste and extravagance among Party and government officials, calling for strengthened supervision and harsher punishments for violators.

"In recent years, some Party and government departments have competed for ostentation and extravagance, which lead to huge spending and waste," said a statement released after the meeting.

At the meeting, the Political Bureau approved the Regulation on Strictly Enforcing Thrift and Fighting Waste in Party and Government Departments, which aims to strictly limit, supervise and punish various violations related to spending public money.

The regulation covers public fund management, domestic and overseas trips, business receptions, meetings and other official activities, the use of non-private vehicles and offices as well as resource savings.

Details of the regulation were not released.

The statement urged various Party and government departments to abide by the regulation.

Yang Weidong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said extravagance and waste have long sparked public dissatisfaction, and they reflect abuse of power by some officials.

The campaign marks a good start to "put the power in a cage", Yang said.

The Party has to put an end to extravagance and waste by officials before it can focus on reforms, he said.

Xinhua and Hou Liqiang contributed to this story.

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