Xi stresses improving modern corporate system with Chinese characteristics

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed efforts to improve the modern corporate system with Chinese characteristics and foster a globally competitive open environment for scientific and technological innovation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when presiding over the fifth meeting of the central commission for deepening overall reform of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which he heads.

The meeting deliberated and approved guidelines on optimizing the modern corporate system with Chinese characteristics, safeguarding grain-growing farmers' incomes and improving compensation mechanisms in major grain-producing areas, and building a globally competitive open environment for scientific and technological innovation.

Xi stressed the need to strengthen the leadership of the CPC, improve corporate governance, and promote enterprises to establish a modern corporate system with clearly defined responsibilities and effective management to nurture more world-class companies.

Work must be done to motivate farmers to grow grains and spur local governments' enthusiasm for boosting grain production to ensure food security, he said.

It is also imperative to catalyze innovation through openness, Xi said, calling for opening-up in the technology sector, building a globally oriented innovation system, and actively participating in global innovation.

The meeting was attended by Li Qiang, Wang Huning and Cai Qi, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy directors of the central commission for deepening overall reform.

To improve the modern corporate system, it is essential to respect enterprises as key players in business activities, improve modern corporate governance in state-owned enterprises, and strengthen the supervision and management of state-owned capital, the meeting said. It also noted that eligible private enterprises should be encouraged to build modern corporate systems.

It highlighted efforts to improve the country's comprehensive agricultural production capacity, as well as policies on pricing, subsidies and insurance.

China's main grain-producing and grain-consuming areas, as well as areas with balanced grain production and consumption, should shoulder the shared responsibility of ensuring food security, according to the meeting.

Support for small farms and new agricultural business entities should be coordinated to link small farms with modern agricultural development, it said.

The meeting stressed the importance of expanding global scientific and technological exchange to forge a cooperative, win-win partnership, as well as building an internationalized scientific research environment that attracts, retains and gives full play to talent.

It also called for improving sci-tech security mechanisms and mechanisms guarding against risks.