Photograph by Andreas Gohr
China has announced a number of wide-ranging social and economic reforms as it looks to sustain its rapid economic growth.
The Chinese Communist Party released a document announcing the reforms after a four-day meeting of its top leaders, which include relaxation of the country’s one child policy and abolish its controversial labour camp system of punishments which many around the world have described as violations of people’s human rights.
The country will accelerate capital account convertibility, work towards integrating urban and rural societies, scrap residency restrictions in small townships. They will also introduce an environmental tax in order to help reduce the smog affecting many Chinese cities after their rapid industrialisation and expansion in recent decades.
This announcement follows the ideas set out in a recently leaked document that resulted in the strongest Chinese stock market rally in months, demonstrating the market support for the plan.
“Decisive” results are promised by 2020, with the Chinese government hoping to regain its double-digit growth rate, which this year has slowed to 7.5%. The next few years will see China’s economy adapt from an export economy to a services economy more in line with the West and countries such as Singapore.
