The 8th CPC Hainan Provincial Committee convened its fifth plenary session in Haikou on August 31. At the session, the Committee considered and adopted the “Opinions of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee on Implementing the Guiding Principles of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and Striving to be the Epitome of China’s Reform and Opening-up in the New Era” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”). The Opinions features clear theme and priorities and outlines a practical blueprint to guide Hainan in becoming the epitome of China’s reform and opening-up in the new era. The main points of the Opinions are as follows.

Objective

The most important outcome of the session is the adoption of the Opinions which sets the well-conceived tasks, timetable, and roadmap for Hainan to further deepen reform comprehensively. The Opinions is aligned with the guiding principles of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and takes into account Hainan’s realities, in particular, its biggest advantage of building the Hainan Free Trade Port. The Opinions emphasizes the promotion of reform through opening-up, identifies the priorities of Hainan’s efforts in further deepening reform comprehensively, and sets the goal of becoming the epitome of China’s reform and opening-up in the new era.

This objective is set by the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee through careful deliberations. It is a requirement for Hainan made by President Xi Jinping when he visited the province in April 2022. It is also a mission that Hainan must live up to as we press ahead to advance Chinese modernization and further deepen reform comprehensively.

Three sections

The report has about 19,000 characters and is composed of 46 entries in 12 parts under three sections.

The first section, Part 1, is the Overview, which lists the overall requirements for Hainan in further deepening reform comprehensively.

In the second section, Part 2 to Part 11 separately elaborate on the deployments of reform in ten sectors: economic system, high-quality development, high-level opening-up, support for all-round innovation, urban-rural integration, democracy and the rule of law, culture, public services, eco-civilization, and social governance.

The third section, Part 12, emphasizes strengthening the Party’s leadership over reform, deepening the institutional reform for Party building, and advancing the development of an incorruptible free trade port.

Three characteristics

Thoroughly grasping the guiding principles of the CPC Central Committee and leveraging Hainan’s advantages.

Aligned with the “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization”, the Opinions ensures full implementation of key reform matters while proposing a series of measures that leverage Hainan’s advantages to chart a Hainan plan for the reform. Rather than copying the Resolution without prioritization, the Opinions is grounded in Hainan’s realities while being promotable as a general reference. For instance, the Opinions underlines the importance of strengthening institutional supply to enhance Hainan’s “five strengths” in seed, marine, aerospace, clean energy, and digital industries to make the province a vital hub for new quality productive forces in line with local conditions. It requires that we accelerate the building of the Hainan Free Trade Port and develop new institutions for a higher-standard open economy 

Highlighting major reforms and institutional development.

Focusing on essential issues concerning Hainan’s economic and social development, the Opinions rolls out specific reform measures around key points, without reiterating routine,short-term and provisional tasks. Placing great stress on reform-oriented institutional development, it proposes to establish or improve more than 90 rules and issue more than 30 regulations, statutes, and policy documents.

Enhancing system integration regarding key links.

The following five years represents a crucial period for Hainan’s special customs operations. When planning the reform, we must take a holistic and progressive approach with clear priorities . A series of reform matters should be put forward to achieve the pressing task of the special customs operations. In parallel, other key reform tasks should be rolled out, with a view to accomplishing them all by 2029 and realizing the long-term objectives for 2035. All the work must be well aligned with the No.12 document of the CPC Central Committee and with the “Overall Plan for the Construction of Hainan Free Trade Port”, so that the CPC Central Committee’s guiding principles are well integrated into Hainan’s specific conditions.

Four-pronged efforts to implement reform measures

The Opinions is a letter of mobilization and commitment for Hainan to further deepen reform comprehensively in the next five years. We will stay pragmatic while taking actions in a well-designed manner to make sure the guiding principles of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the deployments in the Opinions are fully implemented and take effect.

Upholding the Party’s overall leadership in further deepening reform comprehensively.

We will uphold the principle that major reform matters must be decided and the overall pace of work be overseen by the CPC Central Committee, and policy implementation must be reported to the CPC Central Committee in a timely manner to make sure all reforms proceed in the right political direction. Efforts will be made to improve the capacity of Party committees (leading Party members groups) at all level in leading, planning and advancing reforms, with institutional integration and innovation being in a prominent position. We will offer more experience and practices that can be applied elsewhere, redouble incentives for reform, and select good examples to foster a favorable environment encouraging reform, innovation, initiative, and accountability.

Deepening institutional reforms for Party building.

We will further arm ourselves with the Party’s new theories and set up sound long-term mechanisms for enhancing performance through learning. We will redouble our efforts to enhance the officials’ conduct, keep refining the mechanism that ensures the Party’s leadership over the development of the free trade port, and strengthen the community-level Party organizations’ political and organizational functions, thus firmly safeguarding the achievement of the reform tasks.

Advancing the building of an incorruptible free trade port.

We will strengthen and improve the supervision and inspection of how well the principles of President Xi Jinping’s “4.13” speech are put into work, intensify the formation of a “network of supervision” across Hainan, and explore a work model where Party supervision is prioritized and other forms of supervision are coordinated and synergized. We will better exercise four forms of oversight over discipline compliance and apply the “three distinctions” to encourage officials to act boldly and diligently to fulfill their duties. We will refine the long-term mechanisms for reducing the burdens on community-level Party units, and coordinate efforts to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to be corrupt, thus creating a favorable political ecosystem for deepening reform and opening-up comprehensively.

Ensuring the implementation of reforms with relentless perseverance.

Applying the approach of holistic thinking, we will take the initiative to push forward reforms spanning multiple departments, levels, and domains through coordinated and united efforts. We will enhance our initiative for, commitment to, and capability of implementing the reforms, make sound timetable, roadmap, and accountability mechanism for them. The implementation of our reforms will be subject to supervision and inspection, and the litmus test of them will lie in how well it performs, what it delivers and how much satisfaction it brings our people.