Local governments also are permitted to put in place preferential policies or reduce taxes to help coal-fired heating firms that are suffering from soaring coal costs and controlled heating prices.

The NDRC said public hearings must be held before local governments increase heating bills. It also requires local governments to provide subsidized heating for low-income families.

Tertiary Ambition

China's State Council issued a circular on September 16, approving the promotion of the Yangtze River Delta as a world-class city cluster focusing on the service sector.

It stressed the importance of the service industry in shoring up the economy as rising labor cost and the appreciation of Chinese currency pose a squeeze to the manufacturing sector. Some manufacturers have been moving out of the region to make ends meet.

According to the circular, the government aims to develop the service sector as the leading economic engine for the delta area by 2020 and vows to turn Shanghai into an international financial and shipping center.