Experts assess 'milestone' reform blueprint

Resistance to change

At first glance, pushing through the reforms may seem an easier task than it was 35 years ago when the economy was in dire straits. In 2012, China's gross domestic product reached $8.54 trillion, 142 times higher than in 1978.

However, some experts said that groups with vested interests may resist the changes, making it difficult for the government to fully implement its reform blueprint, and therefore greater resolve will be required to put the plan into practice.

"China was faced with a dead-end situation in 1978. The economy was on the verge of collapse and so it was easy to reach the consensus to focus on economic construction. Today, all the easy reforms have been achieved and we have come to the 'deep water zone' of reform, which is much harder," said Zhen.

As part of the reform package, many government reviews and approval procedures for investors will be removed to reduce official intervention in the market.

"It might be easier for people to give up those vested interests that produce few benefits, but it will be harder for them to abandon those that generate substantial profits. And that's without even beginning to mention the property tax, which will touch on the interests of the public," Zhen said.

The plenum decided that State-owned enterprises should hand 30 percent of their profits to the government by 2020. Restrictions on private enterprise investment in restricted sectors - those companies require a license to enter - will also be relaxed, according to the reform document.

However, the Party is in no hurry to break up the monopolies that dominate many sectors of the economy, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The government has previously tried to open up some of the sectors currently monopolized by SOEs - oil and gas, banking, telecommunications, electricity, and transportation - to private investors, but with little success, Xinhua reported.

"Unlike the 1978 reform plan, which was welcomed by all parties because it would benefit different people with different interests once China opened up, the new plan is likely to be difficult to push forward among the groups or departments that might lose control of their vested interests. The solution to that is in the hands of the market and the law," said Zhao from the Central Party School.

Liu Qinglong, a professor of public policy at Tsinghua University, said a new body, the Central Reform Leading Group, which experts expect to become a higher authority than the current top body, The National Development and Reform Commission, will play a key role in overcoming the difficulties as the program of reform unfolds.

"The concentration of power will be an easy way to reduce resistance to reform. I think every province and city will follow suit and establish their own reform leading groups soon," he said.

In an interview with the news portal iFeng prior to the plenum, Cai Xia, an expert at the Central Party School, said full implementation of the plan is crucial, no matter how bold it appears to be.

"If that doesn't happen, the public will lose trust in the government and the Party. That would make further reform even harder, because it always requires mutual trust and cooperation between the people and the government."

Contact the writers at tangyue@chinadaily.com.cn, hena@chinadaily.com.cn and cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn