China’s leaders had a closely watched policy meeting Tuesday with a promise to give market forces a bigger role in the commend economy. In a report after a four-day meeting, Communist Party leaders gave a long endorsement of private companies as “important components” of the economy but said states economy will remain its core. The market will play a “decisive role” in allocating resources, the party said. The official Xinhua News Agency said it was a positive improvement from the “core role” assigned to the market in party policy over the past two decades. Nevertheless, this change in the market structure had no indication that the government is considered any political reforms in China’s closed, secretive one-party system. Currently, Chinese leaders are under pressure to replace a growth model based on exports and investment that delivered three decades of rapid expansion but has run out of steam. Reform supporters say Beijing should be more open minded and open an array of state-controlled industries to private competition, but any ways to limit the privileges of politically favored companies are likely to face resistance. The party said it will create a committee to “deepen reforms” and gave no hint on when more changes might be approved. This vague promise insinuate that the party leaders agreed on big picture but put off battles over details such as the status of state companies that control majority of China’s economy including banking, energy and telecoms.
The Associate Press. “Chinese Economy Will Be More Open, Beijing Pledges.”CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/chinese-economy-will-be-more-open-beijing-pledges-1.2423458>.