A commentary entitled "offering legal guarantee for the reform and development of state enterprises" calls on leading personnel in state enterprises to improve legal awareness.

It urges all state enterprises to strictly implement legal provisions, reinforce construction of regulations and systems in the enterprises and further consummate the legal consulting system in the enterprises in a bid to provide the enterprises with system and organizational guarantee in management according to law and enable the enterprises to yield greater achievements in their reform and development under legal motivation and assurance.

It is commenting on a lecture of November 26 on ensuring and advancing the reform and development of state enterprises at which President Jiang Zemin made a speech.

It says that to push ahead with the reform and development of state enterprises, it is necessary to improve awareness on the importance of guaranteeing and advancing the reform and development of state enterprises according to law, continue to do a good job in legislation, step up the formulation and revision of appropriate laws and decrees to fit in with the buildup and consummation of the modern enterprise system, speed up the flow and regrouping of assets, perfect the social security system, and accelerate technological advancement in enterprises.

It needs to reinforce and improve judicial and administrative law enforcement and supervision over law enforcement, mete out punishment according to law on law-breaking criminal acts infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and solve in earnest the prevailing local protectionism and judicial corruption in judicial trial and enforcement; training of managerial personnel should be strengthened and their legal awareness and managerial level according to law should be raised; auditing control on the enterprises' production and management should be enhanced; legal responsibilities should be looked into on those who break laws, and manage business operations against laws resulting in the loss of state assets.

The commentary adds: "State enterprises, large and midsized ones in particular, act as the vital prop for the national economy in our country, and the reform of the state enterprises is a central link in the reform of the whole economic system. It needs all assortment of means including legal measures to push ahead with the reform of the state enterprises."

Although a series of laws and regulations had been formulated, they have not fully cater to the needs of the deep-going reform of the state enterprises. At present, the reform of the state enterprises is at a crucial stage. It is all the more necessary to regulate relations among all aspects in the light of law, the rights and interests of relevant parties should be protected according to law, and the key and knotty issues facing the state enterprises have to be tackled in accordance with law. And the legal role should be given full play and a sound legal ambience has to be created to readjust the layout of state

economy, advance the strategic regrouping of state enterprises, build up and perfect the modern enterprise system, reinforce and ameliorate enterprise management, do a good job in entrenchment, increase in efficiency, reemployment and social security, etc., the commentary urges.