Reform Blueprint of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee

Time of Session： November 9-12， 2013

Participants： 204 full members， 169 alternate members of the CPC Central Committee， and some non-voting delegates.

Document adopted： The Decision on Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reforms， a new blueprint for reform.

The new blueprint for reform will bring dramatic changes to the Chinese people across 11 aspects：

Abolition of the “Reeducation Through Labor” System and Reduction in Capital Offenses

The “Reeducation Through Labor” system will be abolished. Laws outlining correction and punishment will be improved. And the community correction system aiming to help convicts return to society will also be improved. China will reduce capital offenses step-by-step.

Professor Ma Huaide， vice president of the China University of Political Science and Law， believes that with respect to protecting human rights and building a country governed by rule of law， it is necessary to abolish the“Reeducation Through Labor” system.

Relax the One-Child Policy

While family planning remains a basic state policy， China will relax its decades-long one-child policy and allow couples to have two children if one parent is the only child.

Professor Gu Baochang of the Population Development Studies Center at Renmin University of China insists that relaxation of the one-child policy will make Chinas demographic structure more healthy and complete. China has been experiencing its lowest-ever fertility rate for 20 years straight.

Retirement Age Delay Policy

Chinas retirement age delay policy will be formulated and carried out gradually.

Zheng Bingwen， director of World Social Security Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences （CASS）， believes that gradually implementing a retirement age delay policy will conform to international common practices and Chinas actual conditions.

Reform Chinas Uniform Exams

China will explore university-entrance exam reform， including reducing some subjects. Test for some subjects， such as foreign languages， can be sat several times in a year.

Yang Yinfu， vice director of National Center for Education Development Research， believes that reforming national exams and student enrollment will lead to changes in methodology and institutional talent cultivation.

Establish an Official Residence System

The system concerning officials working and living conditions should be regulated and strictly enforced. They should not have houses and offices in multiple locales. China will explore new ways to establish an official residence system to curb potential corruption.

Professor Zhu Lijia at the Chinese Academy of Governance points out that this is the first time the concept of an “official residence system” has been brought up in China， which will mark major reform of officials benefits.

Legislation and Reform of Property Taxes

China will accelerate legislation of property taxes and various related environmental taxes.

Gu Yunchang， vice president of the China Real Estate and Housing Research Association， believes that legislating and reforming property taxes may require a package of regulations， not only measures for housing taxes.

Grant Farmers Greater Property Rights

Farmers will be granted greater property rights. The homestead system in rural areas will be improved， and farmers rights to homestead will be ensured. A pilot program including mortgaging， crediting， and transferring property rights is to be carried out in some areas to uncover other channels to improve farmers income.

Dang Guoying， director of Macroscopic Research Office of the CASS Rural Development Institute， believes that Chinas goal to build a uniform market for rural and urban construction land shows the direction of the nations land system reform.

Achieve Greater Gains with State-owned Capital

China will improve its state-owned capital operational budgeting system and increase the proportion of state capital gains paid in public financing to 30 percent by 2020， which will be used to ensure and improve public livelihood.

Zhao Changwen， head of the Enterprise Research Institute under the Development Research Center of the State Council， believes that it is reasonable for the country to acquire greater gains from state-owned enterprises（SOE） since SOEs belong to the public and should make greater contributions to public welfare.

Allow Private Capital to Operate Banks

China will open its banking sector wider on the condition of strengthened regulation by allowing qualified private capital to launch small and medium-sized banks.

Professor Song Qinghua， dean of the Finance School at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law， sees two major reasons for governments decision to allow private capital to launch banks. Firstly， the move will break the monopoly of Chinas banking industry. Secondly， the new banks should help relieve financing pressure for private， small， and medium-sized enterprises.

Reform Household Registration System

Reform of the hukou （household registration） system will be accelerated to allow farmers to become offcial urban residents.

Chi Fulin， president of the China Institute for Reform and Development， remarks that Chinas relaxation of requirements for farmers to receive a hukou in towns and small cities will enhance future development opportunities for small and medium-sized cities.

Pricing Reform for Water， Oil， Natural Gas， Electricity， Transportation and Telecommunications

China will improve its mechanisms in realms where prices are determined by the market. Any price that can be affected by the market must be left to the market， so reform will be implemented for the pricing of water， oil， natural gas， electricity， transportation and telecommunications.

Zhou Dadi， former head of the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission， opines that price reform of resources in some key fields will not only ensure a steady supply， but also help industrial restructuring， energy conservation and emissions reduction.