Govt policy moves from past week

Overall plan released for Xiongan New Area

China has set 38 key targets to establish the Xiongan New Area as an innovation-driven, ecologically friendly and convenient place to live, according to an overall plan for the area released on April 20.

The plan was approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. The new area was established in April 2017, covering three counties in Hebei province.

Xiongan is another new area of national importance following the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area, according to the document.

In the first phase, an area of about 100 square kilometers between the counties of Rongcheng and Anxin will be developed. The area for medium-term development will expand to about 200 square km and will be built gradually, the plan said.

Many of Beijing's noncapital functions will be transferred to Xiongan while some of Beijing's population will be relocated as well. The new area will be home to some of Beijing's colleges, hospitals, business headquarters, and financial and public institutions.

The plan said Xiongan should be built into a world-leading digital city with more than 90 percent of its infrastructure categorized as smart. Taking ecology as one of its priorities, Xiongan's forest coverage will increase to 40 percent.

The new area should advance innovation-driven development and create a modern industrial system in its building of a livable and business-friendly city. The plan prohibits skyscrapers as a matter of principle.

The area's development should be integrated with the neighboring cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and Baoding in Hebei, the plan added.

Reforms set for the university of Communist Youth League

A number of reforms will be adopted for the Central School of the Communist Youth League of China, said a plan released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on April 19.

In November last year, the plan was adopted at the first meeting of the Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform of the 19th CPC Central Committee. The document highlights political training as the school's major task. Education should be strengthened on Party theories, constitution, regulations and disciplines.

The plan requires the school's faculty to have a strong political sense, professional skills and maintain the highest levels of conduct.

The school is also named the China Youth University for Political Sciences. The plan emphasized the role of a management system for the university in improving the quality of teaching, theories and international exchanges.

A think tank will be established under the organization with funds from the annual budget of the central government.

The Communist Youth League of China Central Committee will carry out reform steps to ensure that most targets will be achieved by the end of 2020.

Preparatory committee for import expo announced

Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua will head the preparatory committee for the first China International Import Expo, according to a State Council notice released on April 19.

According to the notice, Hu will be director of the committee. The three deputy directors are Zhong Shan, minister of commerce; Ying Yong, mayor of Shanghai; and Ding Xiangyang, deputy secretary-general of the State Council.

The director of the preparatory committee office will be Fu Ziying, vice-minister of commerce and international trade representative at the Ministry of Commerce. The office's four deputy directors will be Shanghai Deputy Mayor Zhou Bo, Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Bingnan, Shanghai Deputy Mayor Wu Qing, and Assistant Foreign Minister Qin Gang, the notice said.

Government gazettes to come under new regulation

The State Council will regulate government gazettes to promote administrative services, said a notice released by the State Council on April 18.

As a legal carrier of administrative rules and regulations, the government gazette is an official channel for government organs to issue decrees.

However, given some government gazettes are not published punctually, a systematic mechanism should be established to improve government work on gazettes, according to the document.

According to the notice, a three-tier system of gazettes－the central government and provincial and city governments－will be established and these governments should publish documents in accordance with their levels of responsibility. Commercial advertisements will be prohibited. Working mechanisms in relation to reviews, supervision, submissions and liaison should be established as well.

In addition, the State Council also urged governments at all levels to publish online gazettes, giving the public more access. Electronic watermarks and other means should be used to ensure the authenticity of the documents and avoid them being tampered with online.

Governments should also create gazette databases, which should be open to the public, and provide search functions, the notice said.

General offices of local governments are in charge of the work involved with the gazettes and should promote it in a regulated and orderly way, the document added.