China expects more reform-focused institutions

Experts shared Xi's feeling of urgency in implementing the reform plans.

"People's expectation for reform remains high and, thanks to the leadership's strong will and good execution, some progress has been made. This is a favorable environment for fully unfurling the reform plans," said Prof. Xue Lan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University. "I think Xi means we need to seize the right moment."

At Wednesday's meeting, the leading group for overall reform announced its three deputies, Premier Li Keqiang, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and Lu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

The group has six divisions covering the economy and the environment, democracy and law, culture, the social system, Party building, and discipline inspection.

Half of them are directly related to improving the country's governance, Xue said, citing the divisions on democracy and law, Party building, and discipline inspection.

"This is strong proof that China's reform focus has been extended beyond the economy," he said. "In fact, the economic reform, which is to realize the market's decisive role, will also count in reforms in other sectors to regulate the government's functions."

As for the makeup of provincial reform task forces, experts suggested that they might follow the model of the central setup but had better consider local realities.

"The central leadership and provincial task forces will play different roles in the reform drive. In some aspects, local authorities can not act until the central leadership makes the call, while in other aspects, they are free to try based on local situations," Xue said. "That's why their makeup should vary accordingly."

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