NDRC to ease pricing regulation

China's top economic planner is set to cut the number of commodities and services that were previously under government pricing regulation by 80 percent, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Wednesday.

"Government pricing will be mainly limited to public services and the natural monopoly sectors, while the rest will be determined by the market," said Xu Kunlin, director-general of the NDRC's price department.

Items such as tobacco, civil explosive products, chemical fertilizer, teaching materials, military products, and basic telecommunication services have been dropped from the central government's pricing list.

Seven types of services will be remained on the list, including natural gas, water, electricity, special drugs and blood products, key transportation and postal services, and some basic services provided by commercial banks.

The NDRC will solicit public opinion on its official website through May 19th at: http://www.ndrc.gov.cn/yjzq/