China should never swerve from the path of reform that started 28 years ago in building a socialist market economy and achieving moderate prosperity for its people, said a signed article to be published in Monday's People's Daily.

The concept of reform has been highlighted in all the policies adopted by the Communist Party of China (CPC) since 1978. The reform has impressively removed obstacles that hindered economic growth and helped China establish an initial system of the socialist market economy, the article by Zhong Xuanli said.

The article said the CPC's decision to build a market economy under socialist conditions was unprecedented. The transformation from a planned economy to a market economy resulted in breakthroughs in China's economic, political, cultural and social development. The Chinese people have made a historic shift in living standards from subsistence to moderate prosperity, Chinese society has maintained stability for a long time, and China has greatly enhanced its influence on the international arena, the article said.

The glorious achievements in the past 28 years demonstrated that reform is the only road for China to achieve prosperity.

Without reform, China could not made further progress, nor could it keep the achievements that have been scored, it added.

The article attributed China's successes in tiding over the SARS outbreak and Asian financial crisis in recent years to its reform, which greatly enhanced the country's material and spiritual strength.

However, China has a long way to go in fully establish the socialist market economy and deepening the reform is highly necessary, the article said.

Institutional barriers and defects have not been completely removed for economic and social development, and new problems and contradictions have emerged. To solve all this, the fundamental way is to deepen the reform,it said.

China's reform has now entered a crucial period.The urgency and complexity of reform calls for absolute determination and confidence to advance the reform, the article said.

In the next five years, China should let market forces play a bigger role in the distribution of resources, improve the government's administrative system, promote a modern corporate system for its state-owned enterprises, improve its financial and banking systems, develop all kinds of modern markets, and enhance its external exchanges and cooperation, the article said.