Key Party meeting starts on Nov 9

BEIJING - The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee will be held between November 9 and 12 in Beijing, according to a CPC Central Committee Political Bureau statement on Tuesday.

The announcement was made after political bureau members held a meeting presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, to study how to "comprehensively deepen reforms."

During the meeting on Tuesday, 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 comprehensively deepening reforms.

The draft decision will be submitted for review at the third plenary session.

Reform and opening up are a "great revolution" by the Chinese people under the CPC's leadership in the new era. Deepening reforms requires the improvement and development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, according to the statement.

Since the third plenary session of the 11th CPC Central Committee 35 years ago, the Party has promoted reforms concerning economic, political, cultural and social systems, as well as those on ecological progress and the institutional construction of the CPC. Opening up has continuously widened, the statement said.

The realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation requires comprehensively deepening reforms and boosting confidence, theory and the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, while "various malpractices in systems and mechanisms must be cleared," the statement said.

The plenary session will see the CPC work to speed up development of the socialist market economy, democracy, cultural development, social harmony and environmental protection.

"We should let labor, knowledge, technology, management and capital unleash their dynamism, let all sources of wealth spread and let all people enjoy more fruits of development fairly," according to the statement.

It added that the CPC's leadership must be strengthened and improved, giving full play to the Party's 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.

They are also pushed to encourage all CPC members to contribute to the reforms.

Also at the meeting, the CPC leadership approved a regulation to fight waste and extravagance among Party and government departments, calling for strengthened supervision and harsher punishments for violators.

"In recent years, some Party and government departments have occasionally competed for ostentation and extravagance, which led to huge spending and waste as well as strong reactions from the people," the statement said

The political bureau approved and agreed to publicize the Regulation on Strictly Enforcing Thrift and Fighting Waste in Party and Government Departments.

According to the statement, the regulation aims to strictly limit, supervise and punish various violations related to spending of public money.

The regulation offers comprehensive stipulations that cover 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.

The statement urged Party and government departments to resolutely follow the requirements in the regulation, with principal officials leading and supervising the campaign.

It further called upon departments at all levels to map out detailed measures under the frame of the regulation in accordance with the realities of their own work, ensuring strengthened supervision and harsher punishments for violators on a case-by-case basis.

The regulation is part of the ongoing "mass line" campaign that aims to boost ties between CPC officials and members and the public, while cleaning up undesirable work styles such as formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance.