BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping envisages “intensive” and “wide-ranging” re-organisation of state and Communist Party entities, with part of the plan to be presented to the annual meeting of parliament, state media said on Tuesday.
The renewed call for ambitious institutional reforms follows Xi’s clinching of a precedent-breaking third leadership term during a major party congress in October last year , where he sealed his place as China’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.
The meeting of the largely rubber-stamp parliament opens at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing on Sunday, where Xi is widely expected to secure his third five-year term as president.
The call for institutional reforms also comes after China’s economy grew 3% last year – one of its feeblest rates in nearly half a century – weakened by strict COVID curbs championed by Xi which were lifted in December.
During a major three-day meeting of the party’s Central Committee that ended on Tuesday, Xi said part of the reform plan pertaining to state institutions would be presented before parliament, the official Xinhua news agency said.
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At the October congress, the party made clear that reforms of institutions were needed, including reforms to the financial system, Xi said.
The overall reform plan will be “targeted, intensive and wide-ranging, touching on deep-rooted interests”, Xi was quoted as saying in a speech before the Central Committee.
He did not say when the reform plans for party entities would be presented for deliberation. And Xinhua did not give details of the changes.
