Beijing approved a decision to comprehensively deepen reform on Jan. 13, 2014, drawing a roadmap for the capital city's further development in the future, Chinanews.com reported.

The decision, approved during the Fourth Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Beijing Municipal Committee held from January 12 to 13, focuses on tackling key issues in the megacity's sustainable development, as well as hotspots and difficult issues where its citizens are concerned.

The decision set 57 specific tasks covering 17 different areas, including economy, culture, society, ecology and Party progress. It is formulated in the light of the gist of the Decision on Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reforms the 18th CPC Central Committee adopted at the close of its third plenum in November last year, with the city's actual situation being taken into consideration.

Wang Anshun, mayor of Beijing, stressed that the city should be firm in carrying out the reforms, with more effective measures taken to ensure that all targets can be achieved.

Guo Jinlong, secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, emphasized that efforts should be exerted in the following aspects: Taking new measures to grant the market a decisive role in resource allocation and better play the role of government; making breakthroughs in promoting innovation-driven development; improving mechanisms in integrated urban-rural development; tackling the problems that obstruct the sustainable development of megacities like Beijing; achieving new outcomes in improving people's living standards and innovating a social governance system; and strengthening the Party's construction in a scientific way.

The decision mirrors the city's specific needs for tackling the different problems it now faces, as Wang stressed, "Beijing should have its own style in comprehensively deepening reform."

One of the highlights of the decision is that GDP growth will no longer be the most important criterion when evaluating an official's performance.

A series of measures will also be taken to address the typical "urban diseases" such as traffic congestion and air pollution.

With regard to the city's subway fare adjustment, an issue of public concern, the decision explicitly requires that efforts should be made to improve the public transport fare adjustment mechanism.

The decision also stressed the importance of carrying out further reform in the city's innovation system, including enhancing the development of the Zhongguancun Science Park, which is also known as China's Silicon Valley.