President Xi urges implementation of reforms

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday ordered officials at all levels to implement reform measures and address lingering problems to ensure the reform drive is successful.

He made the remarks while presiding over the 21st meeting of the Central Leading Group for Overall Reform.

Xi, head of the group, said reform concerns all regions and departments.

Officials must play their part as "promoters and people of action," he said, urging officials to focus on key problems and take precise measures to solve them.

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.

According to a statement released after the meeting, all departments should fully understand and fulfil their responsibilities, while keeping track of the entire process.

Reform that affects multiple fields or departments calls for diligence, therefore, multiple governmental organs should uphold the principles of "good timing and rhythm," the meeting was told.

"Those that fail to do so will be held accountable," it said.

Highlighting supervision and evaluation, the statement stressed that all departments should ensure plans are well documented, and any mistakes or deadline breaches are dealt with accordingly.

It noted that only truly effective reform will boost social and economic development, and give the people real benefits.

Good experience and examples should be summarized, so that they can inform other work, according to the statement.

Officials were urged to lead by example by arranging and supervising tasks in accordance with the requirements of the central authorities.

Meanwhile, organs at city and county levels were urged to go deep into communities to seek public opinion, so the results of reform measures are in line with people's expectations.

"Party committees at all levels should [...] encourage forward thinking, praise outstanding work, but also tolerate mistakes and failures so all officials actively, voluntarily and creatively participate," it added.