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State Liberalizes Prices on 10 Items
Prices of 10 commodities and services have been liberalized, subjecting them heretofore to the market's will.
These products include sugar, agricultural film material, natural rubber and coal for power generation.
Only 13 products or services remain under State pricing control, mainly critical services like water and mail.
Product makers will be allowed to name their prices, said Wang Yang, vice-minister of the State Development Planning Commission.
The announcement was part of the State's long-lasting endeavour to set up a market-oriented pricing mechanism. After this round of liberalization, the prices of more than 90 per cent of retail, agricultural and capital goods are regulated by market.
The 13 commodity and service items still within the State Council's pricing authorities and related departments are a significant drop from 141 in 1992.
Yet pricing authorities and related departments said they will keep control of those 13, which include the State's reserved grains, certain fertilizers, important medicines, natural gas, water supply, power and postal and telecommunication services.
After pricing liberalization, pricing authorities should be converted to supervisors and regulators, said Wang at the press conference organized by the Information Office of the State Council Wednesday.
"During the process of setting up a market-oriented system, the pricing authority should focus its attention on setting up regulations and acting as judge of market players," Wang said.
Pricing reform and price decentralization is spurred by the Price Law, passed by the National People's Congress, in line with China's market-oriented economy.
The commission, which is authorized to supervise the pricing of goods and services that are of special importance to people's lives and national economic security, is fully prepared to eliminate wrongdoings that violate a proper market economy, Wang vowed.
In the previous planned economy, most commodity prices were set by the government.
Since the reform and opening-up policies began in the late 1970s, the pricing of most commodities and services were gradually decentralized.
A public hearing is being planned to allow citizen input on pricing issues soon, said Bi Jingquan, director of Pricing Department under the State Development Planning Commission.
Source: China Daily
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