1994 The system of tax distribution

The system of tax distribution financial system initiated in 1994 contains mainly the division of the post-tax-reform 18 tax categories into central and local taxes and the sharing of tax revenues between central and local authorities, at the same time two taxation authorities were set up wherein the central and local governments levy and manage taxes separately. The direct result of this reform was that the proportion of the central financial income to total financial revenue rose from 22 percent in 1993 to 52.2 percent in 1995, to 54.93 percent in 2002 and further to 57.47 percent in 2003.

1994 The merger of exchange rates

At the end of 1993 China decided to carry out reform of the exchange rate mechanism, the merger of exchange rates was introduced to the Renminbi (People's Currency) on January 1, 1994, the dual exchange rate was changed into a single managed floating exchange rate system. The post-merger exchange price quotation was fixed at one US dollar against 8.7 yuan, from that time on to December 2003, the conversion rate of Renminbi to US dollar appreciated by about 5 percent in 10 years.

1995 Modern enterprise system

At the forums held respectively in Shanghai on May 22, 1995 and in Changchun on June 26 the same year, Jiang Zemin delivered speeches, calling for reinforcing confidence, clearly setting tasks and actively promoting state-owned enterprise reform. He said the basic characteristics of the modern enterprise system are summed up in four sentences "distinct property rights, clearly defined rights and duties, the separation of government administration from enterprise management and scientific management", they are an interrelated integral whole and must be fully and accurately understood and implemented.

1998 Proactive financial policy

In 1998, in order to cope with the Asian financial crisis and prevent economic recession, the Chinese government adopted a proactive financial policy. The government got involved in market economic operation through a purposeful investment policy, designed to absorb precipitation funds, maintain economic aggregate and promote the restoration of "savings--automatic investment mechanism" by the "savings--government investment" method, but the actual result was manifested as a direct impetus to "savings--government investment--economic growth".

1998 Prudent monetary policy

In 1998, in order to cope with the impact of the Asian financial crisis and overcome the tendency of domestic deflation, and to coordinate the "proactive financial policy", the Chinese government introduced a "prudent monetary policy", which helped the Chinese economy to tide over difficulties and maintain a relatively rapid growth.

1999 Debt-to-equity swaps

In August 1999, the State Economic and Trade Commission put forward a concrete plan, condition and scope for debt-to-equity transfer and declared that the debt-to-equity work would soon start in China. At the same time the State Council approved the scheme of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China and the Bank of China to establish the Huarong Assets Management Company, the Great Wall Assets Management Company and the Dongfang (Eastern) Assets Management Company respectively.

2000 Rural tax-for-fee reform

In March 2000, the then Premier Zhu Rongji, in his "Government Work Report", pointed out that active efforts should be made to push rural tax-for-fee reform, so as to fundamentally reduce burdens on farmers, and decided that experiment on this be carried out in Anhui Province that year, and that experiences summed up there should spread to other places. In the year 2000, the total tax fee of farmers in Anhui Province was reduced by 1.69 billion yuan, with the rate of decrease reaching 31 percent, the charge of fees in rural areas tended to become standardized, and the phenomena of "arbitrary collection of charge, unchecked apportionment of expenses and abuse of fund-raising" was basically kept under control.

2000 Urbanization

On June 13, 2000, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued "Some Opinions on Promoting the Sound Development of Small Towns". The Proposal on the "10th Five-Year Plan" passed by the Fifth Plenum of the 15th CPC Central Committee in October pointed out: Raising the level of urbanization and transferring rural population can provide a vast market and sustained motivation for economic development. It is an important measure for optimizing urban and rural economic structures and promoting a virtuous cycle of the national economy and the coordinated development of society. The whole Party and people of the whole country should be told "to implement the strategy of urbanization without delay"

2000 Implementing development of the western region

On October 26, 2000, the State Council issued Document 33, and the Circular on implementing the policy measure for the development of the western region. The scope for application of the policy on western development encompasses Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces, Tibet, Ningxia Hui, Xingjiang Uygur, Inner Mongolia and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions.

2001 Reform of the administrative examination and approval system

On October 24, 2001, the State Council held in Beijing a video conference on the work of reforming the administrative examination and approval system, making arrangements for accelerating the work of reforming the administrative examination and approval system. The main objective is to establish an administrative examination and approval system compatible with the social market economic system and realize institutional innovation through reform.

2002 QFII

On November 7, 2002, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the central bank jointly promulgated the "Interim Measures for the Management of Domestic Securities Investment by Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors [QFII]", which came into effect on December 1, 2002.

2003 Rejuvenating northeast China's old industrial bases

On September 10, 2003, Premier Wen Jiabao chaired an executive conference of the State Council to discuss questions on implementing the strategy for rejuvenating northeast China's old industrial bases, putting forward guidelines, principles, main tasks as well policy measures for the rejuvenation. The conference pointed out: supporting the accelerated adjustment and transformation of northeast China's old industrial bases is an important strategic decision put forward by the 16th CPC National Congress.

2004 Green GDP

GDP has its limitation, it reflects only economic development, but does not reflect the influence of economic development on the resources environment, thus making it easy to overestimate the economic scale and economic growth and giving people a distorted economic picture. Green GDP is a supplement to and perfection of GDP. Within 2004, the state has chosen six provinces and cities including Beijing, Jilin, Shaanxi, Guangdong and Shanghai as the pilot units to carry out green GDP accounting.

By People's Daily Online