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“We should develop the capital market according to the rules of the market. A market-oriented direction should be followed to resolve mechanism and system problems long existing in the market.”

Shang Fulin, director of China Securities Regulatory Commission said at the press conference releasing the China Capital Market Development Report on January 24. A fair, transparent, efficient capital market should be established to contribute to the effective distribution of China’s economic resources.

“Because of the already large and widening gap between the rich and the poor in today’s China, the lack of property taxes should be changed.”

Gao Peiyong, deputy director of Institute of Finance and Trade Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in a recent interview with the China Securities Journal, that property management tax should be launched and act as a breaking point for the initiation of other property taxes like the inheritance tax. In this way, the lack of property taxes can be ended and a modern taxation system instituted to adjust the gap between the rich and poor.

“We should volunteer to make public our balance sheet. As we are managing State-owned assets, we should be more transparent to the public so that they can monitor us. Whether the money should be spent and how well it is spent is something we should hear from the public.”

Li Rongrong, director of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said at the National Work Conference of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration held on January 28. He said all State-owned enterprises (SOEs) should make public their balance sheets within three years. He also urged local departments to invite qualified accountants to conduct audits of SOEs to effectively prevent corruption.

“For figures that are related to people’s livelihoods and widely watched, we will enhance the scientific nature and accuracy of the statistics.”

Xie Fuzhan, chief of the National Bureau of Statistics spoke at the National Work Conference of Statistics. Compiling key figures concerning housing prices and the consumer price index (CPI) will undergo some reform in 2008. The compiling of CPI will be improved, an indexed system of urban residents’ basic living expenses will be established, the calculation of housing price index in cities will be improved and a personal income statistics monitoring system should be completed, according to Xie.