Modernizing governance

Whether or not China can sustain its unprecedented growth miracle after decades of rapid economic expansion is largely dependent on whether the dividends from a new round of reforms can be released, says a Xinhua commentary.

China has been pushing its comprehensive reform plan into high gear since the government unveiled a 60-point reform blueprint after the third plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in November.

Most of the reform initiatives that have been carried out have followed the overall strategy of modernizing China's governing system and governing capability, which means striking a balance between efficiency and equity, as well as between the role of the government and that of the market.

Further clarifying the boundaries of the market and the government is key to the modernization of economic governance. A series of reform measures have been rolled out with an aim of sorting out the relationship between the government and the market, including measures to streamline the administrative approval regime, develop a mixed-ownership economy, promote reform of State-owned enterprises and speed up the price reform of exhaustible resources.

Clarifying the boundaries of the market and the government will help curtail excessive government power and enable the market to play a decisive role. It will also help unleash the power of the market in China's economic system, which has great significance for China's interest rate reform, currency reform, resource pricing reform and SOE reform.

The modernization of economic governance calls for the establishment of a modern government that can meet the requirements of modern socioeconomic development. Related reform initiatives have already been launched over the last three months, including measures to improve the budget management system, speed up taxation reform and deepen the reform of the personnel system.

But the most eye-catching reform measure China has adopted is the initiative to improve macroeconomic control, as the government has pledged that GDP figures will no longer serve as the main indicator for the promotion of officials.

As the government will no longer judge an official simply on GDP growth, the government's governing capability will be further improved and it will help unleash the vigor of domestic capital and foreign capital as well as curb industrial overcapacity.