Xi calls for advancing reforms in all sectors

President Xi Jinping called for advancing reforms in all sectors as China's leading group for overall reform convened its 20th meeting on Monday. The meeting was also attended by Li Keqiang, Liu Yunshan and Zhang Gaoli, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and deputy heads of the group. Xi, head of the group, said a foundation should be built in the first three years of comprehensively deepening reforms, and a "main body frame" of the reform should be set up this year. According to a statement issued after the meeting, attendees called for full assessment of ongoing reforms in all sectors, prioritizing and focusing on key issues to advance reforms. Reforms of state-owned enterprises, the financial and taxation systems, the science and technology innovation system, the land system, opening up, the cultural and education system, judicial equity, environmental protection, the pension system, health care and discipline inspection are major sectors for overall reforms, the statement said. A total of seven documents were approved at the meeting, including guidelines to advance government transparency, help civil servants learn and use laws, reform public institutions that have administrative functions, and reform science and technology associations, as well as a regulation to protect and award whistleblowers in duty-related crimes. The statement stressed transparency is an important aspect of building a law-abiding government. Power should be made transparent wherever it is exercised. Priority should be given to making government budgets, allocation of public resources and the approval and construction of key projects public. It said public servants should intensify their efforts in learning the law, and their ability to perform duties according to law should be strengthened. It urged leading officials to be models in learning and observing law, adding the assessment of officials should include their performance in abiding by the law. The statement also called for efforts to enhance a system that would encourage members of the public to report cases of suspected duty-related crimes. It said clear measures should be worked out to protect informants who provide tips, and the amounts of rewards should be clarified. Meanwhile, retaliation against whistleblowers should be prevented and severely punished, it said. The pilot reform on institutions with administrative functions should be carried out with innovation, it stressed. The reform of these institutions should inject vitality into the market and society by improving their service and streamlining their structure, according to the statement. The operation of these institutions should be standardized and their administrative efficiency should be enhanced, it added. The statement said the associations for science and technology should be reformed into bodies under the leadership of the CPC which act as a platform to unite scientific workers. The meeting also stressed the significance of clarifying leading officials' responsibilities in comprehensive management of public security. Meanwhile, the management of police support staff should be further standardized with better job security and rules, it added.