China's deepening reform catches world attention

BEIJING - The key meeting of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was expected to unveil an overall deployment of China's comprehensively deepening reform, overseas media reported.

The four-day Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which kicked off here Saturday, will deliberate on a draft decision on major issues, including transformation of government functions, urbanization, opening up in the financial sector, fiscal and tax system reform, and price regulation.

"Some moves would be relatively easy to implement, such as insurance on bank deposits - a move that would help underpin China's financial system as capital controls are gradually relaxed," the Wall Street Journal said.

Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, or the Independent Newspaper, predicted transformation from an export-oriented to a consumer-oriented economy would be addressed in the meeting, including giving rural households title to land and allowing private capital into the country's financial sector.

CPC Third Plenary Session

"These moves will motivate China's domestic market with its 1.35 billion population, thus promoting the country's economic development," it said.

The meeting would "decide the economic policies that will steer China's direction over the coming decade," said Forbes, a U.S. biweekly business magazine.

Forbes said it was the most prominent "Third Plenum" since 1978 when Deng Xiaoping led China on its opening up and reform path, because China had reached a turning point which could not be neglected by its leadership.

The Daily Telegraph said this year's meeting would rival that under Deng 35 years ago by delivering a "profound revolution" which would drive the country to break free of the middle income trap and switch to a grown-up growth model.

The reforms will in theory break China's "reliance on investment" and allow the hard working Chinese people to enjoy more of what they produce, said the British newspaper.

The Financial Times said the meeting would be "just the moment" for the party to introduce a slate of reforms for China's economic, social and democratic development.

China needed to achieve high-quality sustainable economic growth as well as create a fair and reasonable environment for competition, thus weakening its social conflicts, it said.

El Mercurio, a Chilean paper, said the meeting would help China sustain its economic growth and increase its mid-term manufacturing capacity.

China's economic growth rate was being closely watched across the world, said Die Welt, a German national daily, adding that, even Germany's economic growth, was unprecedentedly reliant on that of China.

It forecast the upcoming reforms would be welcomed by the Chinese people and also investors around the globe.

The meeting would show just how committed the new leadership was to reform, the Globe and Mail reported.

Not only steering China in the right direction, the results of the meeting would also benefit other countries, the Canadian newspaper said.