China mulls tax, household registration, judicial reforms

Household registration reform

"Accelerating reform of the household registration system is an important part of urbanization and involves hundreds of millions of rural migrants," Xi said.

Rural residents need help to become urban citizens in an orderly manner and basic urban public services must be available to all permanent urban residents, Xi said.

The rigid "hukou" (household registration) system prevents many migrants accessing public services in cities, and is a major hinderance to the urbanization process. The overall principle is to fully remove hukou restrictions in towns and small cities, gradually ease restrictions in medium-sized cities, set reasonable conditions for settling in big cities, and strictly control the population of megacities, he said.

Warning against its complex nature, Xi said reform of the hukou system must be carried out in a steady and orderly manner, taking the actual situations of different areas into consideration, adding that farmers' rights must be protected during the reform.

Judicial reform

The leading group approved plans for dedicated IPR courts to deal with the the burden of litigation associated with increased innovation.

No further details or timetables were disclosed by the meeting, which only said that the establishment of IPR courts is part of the basic judicial reform. According to the Supreme Court, 100,399 IPR cases were heard in 2013 alone.

Xi said reform will cover judicial personnel and their job security, greater accountability, and streamlining management of human, financial and material resources in courts and procuratorates below the provincial level.

Pilot judicial reform programs will proceed within the central leadership's "top-level design" and under its guidance, with local authorities encouraged to explore concrete measures and evaluate their past reform experiences.