Guangdong authorities have issued a provincial rule calling for the further fostering, development and management of social organizations. The rule will take effect on July 1, Zhu said.

It says that social organizations will no longer have to undergo examinations and receive approvals from various administrative departments before they can be registered at the local department of civil affairs.

The current rule requires social organizations to ask for approval from supervisory departments before they can be registered with such departments, making it more difficult to register.

The new rule will also allow more than one association or organization to be established in any given industry. Individuals will be allowed to set up social organizations pertaining to public welfare, charity and social service.

Shenzhen, a pioneer of reform and opening-up in Guangdong, became a leader in the country's attempts to reform social management after it allowed a group consisting of eight types of social organizations to directly apply for registration at the local civil affairs bureau without first being examined by a supervisory body.

Guangdong has set up a province-level social-work committee to push forward social management and reform, and all of the cities in the province have established branches of it, according to Zhu.

"Social reforms are as important as economic reforms," Zhu said. "As a governor, I think making social reforms will be a tougher job in the years ahead since it will involve dealing with many complicated issues."

As a result, the reforms will be concentrated on grassroots-level organizations, Zhu said.