Xi stresses enhancing digital govt construction, advancing fiscal reforms

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed efforts to enhance the building of a digital government and advance fiscal system reforms at and below the provincial level.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while chairing the 25th meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform. 

The meeting reviewed and adopted several guidelines on the above-mentioned issues, along with other guidelines on establishing a criteria system for the auditing of outgoing officials on the management of natural-resource assets, and enhancing the incentive mechanism for the scientific research community, as well as a work plan on improving financial support for innovation.

Xi stressed efforts to fully implement a national strategy for building China's strength in cyberspace, urging broad application of digital technology in government management and services.

Digital and intelligent operation of the government should be promoted to offer solid support for the modernization of the national governance system and governance capability, Xi said.

On local fiscal system reforms, Xi noted that fiscal relations between governments at and below the provincial level should be straightened out to enable a more rational balance between power and responsibility, a more standardized division of revenue, a relatively balanced distribution of fiscal resources, and stronger fiscal security at the primary level.

He called for speeding up the construction of a unified domestic market, promoting the equalization of basic public services and advancing high-quality development. 

On establishing a criteria system for the auditing of outgoing officials on the management of natural-resource assets, Xi said such a system must be scientific, standardized and reasonable to encourage officials to fulfill their responsibilities on natural-resource asset management and ecological protection.

He also urged focusing on the weak links in financial services for sci-tech innovation, and improving the financial support for innovation, so as to ensure the financial system better meets the needs of sci-tech innovation in the new era. 

To encourage scientific and technological personnel to reach their full potential and show their capabilities, Xi called for building an innovation ecology that is conducive to the continuous emergence of achievements and effective application of research outcomes. 

Li Keqiang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng, who are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy heads of the central commission for deepening overall reform, attended the meeting. 

While providing digital services that are accessible, intelligent and inclusive, the country should give play to the important role of digital technology in economic regulation, market supervision, social management, public services and ecological conservation, according to the meeting. 

In building a digital government, the country needs to promote the sharing and use of data in accordance with laws and regulations, and push forward technological, business and data integration, the meeting said. 

It also stressed the importance of data security in digital management, calling for efforts to ramp up security management in all aspects.

Since the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the country has strengthened top-level design for fiscal and tax reform, with the division of revenues between central and local governments further clarified and the reform of the transfer payment system further deepened, the meeting said. 

Efforts should be made to clearly define fiscal powers and expenditure responsibilities, clarify the division of revenues, and improve the transfer payment system between governments at and below the provincial level.

The country will further remove local protectionism and market barriers, improve the system for ensuring equal access to basic public services, and increase financial support for old revolutionary base areas, ethnic areas, border areas, and underdeveloped areas, it said. 

China has built a system for auditing outgoing officials' management of natural-resource assets, the meeting noted. 

Efforts should be made to improve the standards by which officials' decision-making in matters related to resources and the environment is evaluated, and to include the implementation of the nation's major ecological policies in the evaluation indicators, the meeting said. 

The meeting also urged efforts to step up building a financial support system for innovation, with focuses on major areas including breakthroughs of core technologies in key fields; the application of advances in science and technology; small and medium-sized sci-tech and innovative enterprises; and high-tech enterprises.

The meeting stressed the need to enhance capacity building in terms of credit services in the sci-tech sector. It also called for improving the direct financing function of the capital market and giving play to the risk-sharing role of insurance and financing guarantee institutions. 

More work should be done to ensure the security and stability of industrial and supply chains, and coordinate the financial support for sci-tech innovation with the prevention of financial risks, the meeting said.