
BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for "unswerving efforts" to advance supply-side structural reform, commanding local authorities and various departments to come up with policies to support the campaign.
There may be difficulties and risks in the process, but local authorities should not shy away from the task, Xi said at a meeting of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs on Monday.
After hearing reports on reform efforts from Jiangsu, Chongqing, Hebei and Shenzhen, Xi acknowledged that some of the plans are bearing fruit and contributing to growth.
"But some policies need to be studied further, and some regions have not yet taken effective actions," he noted.
China's local governments are busy making and releasing detailed measures to implement supply-side structural reform as authorities count on the move to counter ongoing economic headwinds and address outstanding issues such as excess capacity, housing overhang, and "zombie" state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with poor profitability.
Xi reiterated that the focus should be put on measures to cut excessive industrial capacity, destock, de-leverage, lower corporate costs and improve weak links.
The ultimate aim of the reform is to improve supply quality and reduce "ineffective" supply, which is essentially about deepening reforms in SOEs, transforming government functions and carrying out overhauls of areas such as pricing, taxation, finance and social security, he said.
The roles of the market and government should be put into better play to balance the reforms, he added.
At Monday's meeting, Xi also stressed efforts to expand the middle-income group, improve the income distribution mechanism and strengthen intellectual property protection.
Premier Li Keqiang, who is also deputy head of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs, also attended the meeting.
French girl ties the knot with Chinese boy
Beijing Style: ready for bare legs
Century-old station sees railyway evolution
Enthusiasts perform Kung Fu at Wudang Mountain
Stunning photos of China's fighter jets in drill
Monk's mummified body to be made into a gold Buddha statue
Former Chinese solider of the French Foreign Legion seeks wife online
Asia's longest and highest suspension bridge to open to traffic
China's first interactive robot looks like a beauty
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
Top 10 hardest languages to learn
10 Chinese female stars with most beautiful faces
China’s Top 10 Unique Bridges, Highways and Roads
Rousseff’s suspension won’t cure ailing Brazil
Reforms, consumption set to boost growth
As police crack down again on sex work, some say legalization is solution
China recognizes ‘good netizens’ who spread ‘positive energy’ Day|Week