8. Deepening reforms in key areas

Reform and opening up are the right choice we made for China's destiny and future. We must respect the people's creativity; boldly explore new ways; continue to promote all reforms, including the reform of China's economic and political systems, with greater resolve and courage; and solve complex issues in development in line with the requirements of the Scientific Outlook on Development.

Now and for some time to come, reform will be focused on the following key areas and crucial links. We will further transform government functions, improve macro-controls, balance the relationship between government and the market, and make better use of the basic role of the market in allocating resources. We will advance reform of the fiscal and taxation systems, better balance the distribution of fiscal resources between the central and local governments and between all levels of local governments, and better arouse the initiative of both the central and local governments. We will deepen reforms of land, household registration and public services; balance the relationship between urban and rural areas; and promote coordinated development of industrialization, urbanization and agricultural modernization. We will carry forward reforms in social programs and income distribution, strike a balance between economic and social development, and effectively safeguard social fairness and justice. We will run the government in accordance with the law and promote innovation in social administration, properly handle the relationship among the government, citizens and social organizations, and build a service-oriented, responsible, law-based and clean government.

The major tasks for reform this year are as follows:

We will deepen reform of the fiscal, taxation and financial systems. We will improve the revenue-sharing system and the system of transfer payments, and increase the scale and proportion of general transfer payments. We will improve the mechanism for ensuring basic funding for county-level governments, and make the budgets and final accounts of local governments more transparent. We will deepen reform of the systems for treasury's centralized revenue collection and expenditure payments, government procurement, and central government debt management. We will improve the excise tax system, comprehensively deepen the reform of resource taxes, and set taxes on more commodities on the basis of their prices. We will thoroughly carry out reform of large financial institutions in which the state holds the controlling stake, ensure orderly development of small financial institutions, and improve the systems and mechanisms that serve small and micro businesses as well as agriculture, rural areas and farmers. We will implement new oversight and supervision standards for the banking industry, work toward establishing a deposit insurance system, and deepen the reform of policy-based financial institutions. We will improve both initial public offerings and delistings, and ensure better protection of returns on investors' money and their rights and interests. We will actively develop the bond market, accelerate reform and development of the insurance industry, and make interest rates more market based. We will work steadily to make the RMB convertible under capital accounts and expand the use of RMB in cross-border trade and investment.