China in full sail with deepening reform

BEIJING - Defined as "the key year of comprehensively deepening reforms," 2015 saw a series of milestones achieved by China.

While existing measures were being implemented, China in 2015 kept pushing its reform campaign forward, and entered a "deep-water zone."

According to Xi Jinping, the Chinese president and also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, 101 key reform missions set by the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform were completed last year and the whole campaign maintained good momentum.

In 2015, over the course of 11 meetings, the leading group formulated reform programs that covered more sectors and underlying issues, manifesting the resolve of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the General Secretary in comprehensively deepening reform.

Greater attention was paid to overall planning and rule of law. The CPC Central Committee also showed more resolve in ensuring measures were effectively implemented.

Against a complicated economic backdrop, at home and abroad, the CPC Central Committee strived to adapt to the new normal with reforms that addressed issues that could hold back economic development.

Also, to create new economic growth points, a more innovation-friendly system is taking shape, with leading group meetings discussing innovation-related reforms on four occasions.

Reforms to invigorate state-owned enterprises (SOEs) also saw progress. After prudent research and review, a guideline was released in September to further modernize SOEs, enhance state asset management, promote mixed ownership and prevent the erosion of state assets.

The opening-up policy, reforms about the country's pricing mechanism, rural development and market-oriented interest and exchange rate reforms also made steady progress last year.

At a meeting in November, Xi called for more attention to push for supply-side structural reform, which will address outstanding issues like excess capacity, housing overhang, and "zombie" SOEs with poor profitability.