Xi: Promote web economy's healthy growth

Key meeting also maps out measures to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060

A key meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping on Monday outlined steps to bolster oversight of the economy supported by internet platforms, which includes tech giants and e-commerce sites, while underlining the need to enable the healthy growth of private businesses in the sector.

The meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs also mapped out a host of measures that would help China to peak its carbon emissions by 2030 and attain carbon neutrality by 2060.

With China's platform?economy at a crucial stage of growth, it is important to strengthen weak areas in the sector in both the long and short terms, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chairman of the Central Military Commission and the head of the committee.

He urged steps to create an environment for innovation, solve prominent problems in the sector and enable its growth in a regulated, healthy and sustained manner.

The meeting highlighted the increasingly important role of the platform?economy in overall social and economic development, noting that the sector has helped raise efficiency in the allocation of resources, promote the transformation of technologies and industries and improve national governance.

However, the sector is challenged with some striking problems, with some businesses undergoing unregulated growth and faced with various risks, according to a summary of the meeting. It also highlighted the problem of the government system not being able to meet requirements for oversight of the sector.

It is important to establish and improve a governance system for the platform?economy and clarify the rules and bottom line before stepping up oversight and enabling the orderly growth of the sector, the summary said.

The meeting reiterated the need to promote fair competition, fight monopolies and guard against the unregulated expansion of capital.

It urged improving rules and the system, with accelerated steps to improve related laws and regulations and close loopholes in rules. The development of a property rights system for data must be strengthened, and internet platforms must do better in assuming their responsibilities for data security.

The government must improve its capacity and level in conducting oversight and strengthening its anti-monopoly capabilities, while ensuring that all financial activities are brought under the scrutiny of financial regulators, the summary said.

At the meeting, the important role of the platform?economy in promoting high-quality growth and high-quality living standards was stressed. It also urged businesses in the sector to assume their responsibilities in guaranteeing food security, protecting the rights to data and the privacy of users and ensuring the labor rights of workers.

Meeting participants emphasized that China peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and attaining carbon neutrality by 2060 are related to the sustained development of the Chinese nation and the fostering of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Guided by the across-the-board green transformation of socioeconomic growth, the country must give priority to green energy and low-carbon development and quicken steps to reshape the industrial structure, ways of production, lifestyle and spatial patterns so they are focused on conserving resources and protecting the environment.

It is important to better identify and control risks and properly handle the relationship between cutting emissions and ensuring the security of energy, industry and supply chains, food security and the normal life of the public, the summary said.

The meeting outlined work priorities for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, a key window of opportunity, toward the goal of peaking carbon emissions.

China will establish a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, control the overall use of fossil fuels and carry out an initiative to replace traditional energy with renewable energy, the summary said, adding that a new type of power system with new sources of energy as the mainstay will be fostered.

The country will also encourage the growth of green manufacturing, improve energy-saving standards in construction sectors and expedite the development of green and low-carbon transportation methods.

The meeting highlighted the need to refine policies in finance, taxation, land use and government procurement to better enable green and low-carbon development, saying that the trading of carbon emission rights must be moved forward as quickly as possible and green finance must be actively promoted.

It called for enhanced international cooperation in coping with climate change, with steps to promote the creation of international rules and standards and the building of a green Silk Road.