Meeting set to unveil package of key reforms

The Communist Party of China will convene the third plenary session of its 20th Central Committee from July 15 to 18 in Beijing, a highly anticipated meeting that will unveil wide-ranging reforms.

The decision was made on Thursday at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, which was chaired by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

In the past, the third plenums of the CPC Central Committee have often launched major reforms. For instance, during the Third Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1978, former leader Deng Xiaoping ushered in policy changes that paved the way for decades of rapid economic growth and opening to the outside world.

This year's third plenum carries historical significance given the structural economic slowdown, global geopolitical tensions and an increasing emphasis on coordinating development and security, observers said.

On the top of the agenda of the plenum is that the Political Bureau will report its work to the CPC Central Committee with a focus on studying the issues of further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization.

Thursday's Political Bureau meeting heard a report on the solicitation of opinions within and outside the Party on the draft decision of the CPC Central Committee on further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization, according to a statement released after the meeting.

It was decided that the draft document would be revised based on the discussions at the meeting, and submitted for deliberation at the third plenary session, the statement said.

The meeting's participants stated that the draft provides a thorough analysis of the new situations and problems in advancing Chinese modernization and scientifically maps out the overall arrangements for further deepening reform.

It was noted at the meeting that the draft serves as an overarching document guiding the deepening of reform across the board on the new journey, and demonstrates the resolve of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core to open up broad prospects for Chinese modernization through further deepening reform.

Regarding the goals and objectives for further reform, the statement said that China will complete the building of a high-standard socialist market economy by 2035.

The system and capacity for governance will be basically modernized and socialist modernization will be basically achieved by 2035, it added.

The plenum comes as China faces challenges in its structural economic readjustment as well as risks arising from mounting international geopolitical competition.

Experts said it offers the CPC leadership an opportunity to outline how it plans to manage the structural slowdown following a period of rapid economic growth, and will provide indications as to the future direction of the Party's key priorities, including technological self-reliance and innovation, national security and economic growth.

At the session, the CPC leadership is likely to map out the policy adjustments it will use to address an increasingly uncertain economic outlook, with policies and reforms that could alleviate the uncertainties affecting both consumers and investors, they said.

Participants at the Political Bureau meeting laid out principles for further deepening reform, including adhering to a systemic perspective to handle major relationships such as between the economy and society, government and market, efficiency and equity, vitality and order, development and security, and enhancing the systemic, holistic and coordinated nature of reform.

They also highlighted that the Party's leadership is the fundamental guarantee for further deepening reform and promoting Chinese modernization.

It is necessary to adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee in further deepening reform, they said.